Precious Things
by Dralion Lily
Summary: The Suzaku Seishi have been reincarnated into the real world, married, and..have kids! The story focuses on Boushin and Sakura, Tamahome's daughter, whom attempt to love each other, under constant family pressure. *Chapter 6 uploaded!! 11/01*
1. Chapter 1: The Picnic

**Precious Things**

_By: Dralion Lily_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fushigi Yuugi, whether it be setting or characters. They are the property of Watase Yuu; and may I just add that her stuff is just pure genius, put at work to the best of ability. I've created additional characters to the story; no one may steal them, please! Anyhow, on with the story.

Warning! There are spoilers in this chapter…read at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn ya! ^_~

A.N: Major spoilers ahead!!

**Rating: PG-13**

Family Tree

_Note: I did some major calculations with this. They're kind of exact, but if they're not, bear with me. The kids are listed next to the parents, and are in order. Have fun!_

Tamahome (44) and Miaka (40) – Chuei (22), Sakura (18), Ryu (16)

Hotohori (45) and Houki (42) - Boushin (21), Sayuri (18)

Tasuki (44) and Reirei (40) - Kano (20), Sumi (17), Rei (14)

Nuriko (45) and Junko (43) - Kourin (17), Kouki (6)

Chichiri (51) and Kouran (49) - Keitaro (21), Rinji (16)

Mitsukake (49) and Shoka (48) - Mai (21)

Chiriko (40) and Chie (39) - Toshiro (16)

*~*

Chapter 1: The picnic

*~*

The weather was way too hot for Sakura's taste. And to make it worse, she was extremely bored. What was a girl to do? She laid on her back on her bed, with an open book in her hand, looking up at the ceiling. The window was all the way open, letting a warm breeze into the room, billowing the pink tapestry curtains.

Her room in the big mansion was set up to her liking, according to the command of her uncle, Hotohori. The "Big Mansion," that's what it was called by every one, ever since she could remember. It was constructed before Sakura was born; the ex-Suzaku warriors came together and decided to make a big house so their future kids would have more space to run around in. And what would a huge mansion be without an extremely large garden, complete with a playground, flowers of every species imaginable, and a pool. Then there was the garage, which had space for everyone's cars, including some extra space for other vehicles. And inside the house was a whole other story. Each room, large and fit to everyone's liking, since one room was assigned to everyone, be it for a couple or single. And each room would not be complete without a equally large bathroom, with accessories included. It certainly was a mansion fit for a king, even the mansion's library compared to that of the National Library. Sakura had just returned from library, picking a book absentmindedly, while everyone else was outside preparing for a family lunch, waiting for the arrival of Boushin. 

Boushin was coming home from America; he had to go on a business trip to Chicago, and had been away from home for two months. He was very smart, hard-working, and it paid off since he graduated from university a bit early for his age, to go straight to work as a professional business consultant. Being the first-born son of Hotohori and Houki, they were very proud of him. 

His sister, Sayuri, was Sakura's best friend since childhood, and was her age. They had just finished High School together, now preparing to go their separate ways to different universities. Ever since little, they were both in the same school, same class, together; it would be hard not see each other every day from hence on. Sayuri, being the only daughter and last child of the couple, was a doll, literally, and the cause of stares from all the boys; but she wasn't the only one, because many boys also had eyes for Sakura. But the guys were smart enough to know that she was all ready taken, by Boushin no less. The two of them were inseparable, ever since childhood. Boushin happened to be best friends with Sakura's older brother, Chuei, and they both loved playing with Sakura – well, every once and a while, when they were younger. After all, boys have to stand up to their reputation in being, well, boys. Sakura always had Sayuri to play with, while the boys went out. But Boushin was always very close to Sakura; he was her shoulder to cry on when she was sad, and they shared millions of laughs, as well. It was just recently that Sakura and Boushin "attempted" to make their friendship something more. But there was something, rather someone, who stood in the way – Sakura's dad, Tamahome.

Everyone called him Tamahome, even though his real name was Taka. But ever since the Suzaku warriors reunited into the real world, they decided to use their past names for old times' sake. Now that the Suzaku warriors, and their spouses, were all of an 'elder' age, they were into their retirement stage to relax, now that their kids were all grown up. Tamahome, though, was a case on his own. He was more than protective of Sakura; it seemed like he kept her under surveillance 24/7. When Tamahome found out that Sakura was the attention of boys in school, he hid behind bushes, and once he found the boys on their own, he would start harassing them. Sakura later found out about these such occasions, and came home crying one day to her mother, sobbing that her father didn't trust her. Miaka, later that night, quarreled with her husband that his actions embarrassed Sakura, and that he should stop acting like a child. He did, but didn't take the matter too lightly. When Boushin began picking up Sakura from school, and hurled the boys that were constantly over Sakura into walls, Tamahome began to feel safer and content. But when he found out that Boushin had interests in Sakura as well, he was not only shocked and surprised, but a bit upset. Sakura was his only little girl, and although he never would admit it, he wanted her as his baby girl forever. It was only after a long time, he accepted the relationship; after all, he wouldn't trust Sakura to any other guy, because he was actually very fond of the boy – another thing he'd never admit to. And, the whole family had accepted the relationship as well; the whole family including the Suzaku warriors, their spouses, and their children.

Sakura sighed wearily, from doing nothing and from waiting. She had helped the others downstairs earlier in fixing the table for the picnic, and cooking some things, but then excused herself to her room. She grabbed a pillow from the headboard, and dragged it under her head. She was about to doze off when she heard a yell from outside the window.

"Hey! Sakura! Come down, won't you?! You're not going to stay up there forever!"

She smiled, recognizing the voice immediately. Sayuri could be such a pain in the butt when she wanted to be. 

Her thoughts strayed back to Boushin. Sayuri was the complete opposite of her beloved, and it was a complete mystery to anyone how Sayuri could be such a rebel; she hadn't inherited her audacious traits from neither of her parents. When Hotohori and Houki had been reincarnated into the real world (along with all the other Suzaku Seishi), they had found each other in a garden store, and immediately recognized each other. They decided to take things slowly at first, to make up for what was a very rushed relationship in their past lives. They dated for a few years, and it was a bit hectic at the beginning, due to Hotohori being a famous pop star. But, eventually, they announced their marriage. Miaka was extremely happy for them, and, not only was she Houki's best friend, but also a great confidant.  Miaka was ecstatic when Houki chose her as the bride's maid, and the wedding went along beautifully. When Houki became pregnant with Boushin, her and an equally pregnant Miaka walked around the mall very often, with their husbands trailing along with overloaded bags. And it was a coincidence that they became pregnant again, around the same time, with their daughters. Sakura laughed, remembering a comment from her mother. _'You'd think your father and your Uncle Hotohori were planning together the pregnancies at the same time…'_ her mother had said. 

She sighed irritably when Sayuri repeated her earlier exclamation. Sakura decided to respond back this time. "Try me!" she equally yelled from her position. All returned to quiet, even as she waited for a reply, and none came. She doze off, tired from being bored and the humidity of the weather.

She didn't hear the door to her room open, being all ready too deep in sleep. She didn't feel either the bouquet of flowers lie next to her, nor the extra weight which caused her bed to hollow to one side. What she did feel was a soft kiss on her lips, slowly taking her from one dream to another. She moaned, and kissed back, thinking that if she woke up, the dream would disappear. The kiss had turned heated, but soon ended when whomever had kissed her lifted their head. Sakura moaned sadly and turned to her side. The person began to kiss her again, up the side of her face, and finally to her ear, where they gently blew air.

"Come on, sleepy head, wake up," a soft and handsome male voice whispered, which Sakura recognized distinctly.

"Don't want to," Sakura mumbled. "It might disappear."

He chuckled. "What will disappear?"

"My wonderful dream," she sighed.

"Hmm. And what if I told you this wasn't a dream at all? Would you wake up?"

She shook her head on the pillow, causing another chuckle from the other.

"What if I do this?" he inquired, as he kissed the nape of her neck.

She moaned, but made no movement to wake up.

He frowned at her stubbornness. "What if I do _this_?" He finished the last word with insistence, as he began to tickle her.

Sakura yelped and squirmed on the bed, as her attacker kept tickling her. She opened her eyes, slightly, to give her attacker the satisfaction of accomplishing his task. Through her laughter, tears, and pink face from lack of air, she managed her words, "Ok, ok! I'm awake! Stop, please! Please!"

He stopped, sitting up with a lofty grin. "Hey there, precious. Missed me?"

She breathed deeply, looking at those amber eyes she knew so well. She smiled beautifully for him, just for him. "Sure did. Did you miss me, sweetie-pie?"

He smiled back, with his irresistible smile. "I did...a lot." He laid down next to her, Sakura shuffling a bit to make him room, even though it was a pretty big bed. He looked into her green eyes, which entranced him every time he saw them. He lifted his hand, to run a finger down her cheek. "Were you falling asleep from waiting for me so long?" He pouted, as he finished his question.

Sakura giggled. "Well, it's very exhausting, waiting for a man that's so busy, Boushin. A lady needs her rest, as well," she finished with a big smile.

He laughed. "Yeah, well, next time, wait for me so we can both _rest_ together."

"Well, that sure sounds enticing."

"Doesn't it?" Boushin brought his hand to the nape of her neck, bringing her mouth closer to his, as they shared their second kiss since his return.

They both had turned on the bed, so that Boushin was on top of Sakura, holding his weight on his elbows. Neither one noticed someone knock on the door. But the clearing their throat sure got both their attention. The two broke apart, Sakura gasping and Boushin sitting on the edge of the bed. They were trying their best to look innocent, and were extremely embarrassed, even more so when it was Tamahome who had caught them, and was currently standing at the door way. He didn't look too pleased, but it sure did seem like that he had an amused glint in his eye, just for a fraction of a second. He looked at them, took turns in looking at each one square in the eyes, as if he was disappointed in them. 

"Lunch is ready, so if you two would excuse yourselves and start walking," Tamahome said, extending his hand out the doorway, while the other hand was still on the doorknob.

Boushin cleared his throat, embarrassed and a tad upset at being disturbed during a romantic reunion with his girlfriend. He got up, extended his hand to Sakura, and helped her up from her position on the bed. Sakura walked towards the doorway, blushing extremely and looking at the floor, trying to avoid her father's eyes. Boushin followed in suit, looking up at Tamahome quickly, then straight ahead.

They didn't see the smile Tamahome had on his face, as he closed the door to Sakura's room, and walked behind them a distance, down the hallway to the stairs.

*~*

Outside, everyone was eating, content with all the food that went up and down the table, filling their plates as something they liked came into their hands. They were all chatting happily, about past times, recent events, some gossip that happened to come along. Miaka was constantly walking up and down the table, to see if anyone needed anything.

It was always like this at every family picnic – raucous and giddy. And Sakura loved the aura of it all. The flowers and cherry blossom trees around them, the greenhouse down the path packed with different fruits and vegetables, the waterfall splashing into the waters of the lake…it gave the mansion such serenity. Sakura sighed happily.

Boushin heard her, wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.

The action caused Kano, Tasuki's only son, to tease, boisterously. "So, Boushin, did you have a good time upstairs, or…did something, or should I say _someone_, interrupt your happy reunion?" He smirked a Tasuki trademark smirk, which everyone knew all to well would cause trouble.

Tasuki was a professional golf player - Japan's own Tiger Woods. And being his usual arrogant self didn't help much in distancing all the fans - who happened to always _know_ where he was, at the exact time. It was actually extremely scary to see them formed in huge crowds; and some sat on his car, waiting for him to sign autographs. So much for the efficiency of bodyguards… But he still managed to escape the over-excess of attention, disguising himself, and slipping into clubs for nightly bouts of free-time and, well, entertainment! It was one of these nights where he met Reirei. For all that do not know, Reirei was the only girl who was part of the Mt. Reikaku Bandits; and her relationship with Tasuki was very close – a brother and sister intimacy. Her early death affected Tasuki deeply, and so, his dislike towards females in general. But seeing Reirei once again, made Tasuki extremely happy, and brought back past memories. She was working as a waitress, and Tasuki had just walked up to her, and dragged her onto the dance floor – no re-acquaintances, just a gruff command. At first, Reirei was pretty shocked, and was about to smack her assaulter – when she recognized who it was!  She, as well, was extremely happy to see Tasuki, and flooded him with hugs and kisses and, of course, questions. For a few weeks, they resumed a sister-brotherly distance, catching up to old times. But, it ended up that destiny had other things in mind; and Reirei and Tasuki, themselves, discovered how immensely they enjoyed each others' company – that they truly liked each other more than as siblings. They hit it off pretty well, and, eventually, got married, having three kids. Kano, their first born and only boy, followed by Sumi, and then Rei.

"Kano! You idiot, what right do you have in knowing about their privacy?" scolded Kourin, Nuriko's daughter.  

Nuriko was a secret agent for Intelligence – and no, ladies and gentleman, Nuriko was _not_ reincarnated as a woman. Although he still continued to possess certain attributes… Anyways, one day, when he went to the mall with Miaka and Houki, he saw a beautiful, green-haired woman named Junko, who was sitting all by herself in the mall café. Miaka and Houki saw the way he was looking at her, as if she was the most beautiful creature in the world; after all, they themselves had received those very same glances from their own respective husbands. So, Nuriko walked up to her and introduced himself, which soon led into a date; the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into years. And so during a mid-winter day, everyone was surprised in getting an invitation to a wedding – Nuriko's, no less. It had been about 3 years those two were going out, and everyone was very happy for him. Not only had Nuriko found true love, but also a true companion, in many ways than one. A year later, Junko became pregnant with Kourin, their first child; Nuriko wanted to name her after his lost sister, because the resemblance to her was so similar. And then, eleven years later, they attempted to try and have another child. Junko became pregnant again, but her visit to the doctor was not a pleasant one. Junko was informed that she was at a high risk of losing the baby, due to certain complications. Nuriko, having heard this upsetting information, became very worried, and so tried to help Junko in every way he could. But a few weeks passed, and Junko had a miscarriage. Junko was in pieces, and all the Suzaku wives' came to support her. It still hurt to talk about the event; but a few months passed, and Junko became pregnant, a third time, with Kouki, their first son. Everyone was happy that Junko's pregnancy had gone extremely well, and the baby boy was healthy, and the miscarriage had become something of the past.

Getting back to the present, a big dispute was about to begin…

"What?" said Kano, innocently. "I think I have the right to know the well-being of my…two favorite buddies." He purposely put the pause to look at the couple squarely in the eye, with a mischievous look.

"Oh puh-lease, Kano, spare us the drama," said Sumi, one of his sisters.  "You wouldn't care about anyone's well-being unless it was personal."

He gasped, with feigned offence. "What?! How can you say that? Of _course_ I care about them. It just gets really interesting when they look like they're about to get…a little intimate."

"KANO!!" reprimanded everyone at the table.

By now, Sakura was utterly humiliated and had attempted to hide herself under the table. Boushin looked down at her with a caring look, and brought her back up; but the deep red blush that stained her cheeks was extremely visible.

"Kano, what about your personal life? If you have any, that is…" remarked Boushin, to spare his girlfriend from humiliation. Although he could take it, he knew Sakura was very sensitive about these things.

There were chuckles and giggles from all over the table; the adults had joined the conversation a long time ago, and many were smiling and laughing along with there kids.

Kano opened his mouth to say something, but spluttered and went back to eating.

"So, dear, tell us. How was your trip?" asked Houki.

"Well, it was interesting, mother. But there were times that it was so annoying, I felt like yelling at all my partners. See, when I first arrived at the airport…" Boushin retold his experience in Chicago to everyone, from when he first arrived to the business meeting at the Sears Tower. It seemed that there were disagreements in ideas in the project Boushin was working in, which he commented, irritated him.

The afternoon went nicely, and desserts ranging from fruits to puddings came out, commencing a new discussion at the table.

"So, Chiriko, how is the university going?" inquired Hotohori.

"Oh, it's going quite well. And the students really like Chichiri's discourses about ancient Chinese Buddhism. Chichiri has made quite the accomplishment at the university, that the headmaster is planning on making Chichiri a full time professor." Chiriko was a professor in one of the most reknown universities in Tokyo, and he taught his students Medical History. He was very proud of his job, and so were his wife, Chie, and their only son, Toshiro.

At the age of 13, Chiriko was a professional doctor – almost a 'Doogie' Howser, you might say. At the age of 18, Chiriko decided he wanted to return to school, to teach others what he knew. It was in university, where met Chie, a first year – the same university where he studied, and currently teaches still. Because of the regulations between student and professor relationships, they tried to keep there relationship platonic. Key word: _tried_. Once Chie had graduated, they officially announced their dating; but practically everyone knew by then that the two were inseparable, and were in a long-term relationship. Anyhow, one thing led to another, and they announced their marriage, few years later. When Chie became pregnant with Toshiro, Chiriko was ecstatic, and purposely took Chie to his classes to keep an eye on her. The headmaster and Chie became equally surprised and amused by Chiriko's over protectiveness. Tasuki couldn't help teasing him about it whenever he had the chance to; but Chiriko just smiled it off.

Chichiri replied to Chiriko's praise, with what seemed like a faint pink blush.  "Well, now, I'm just doing my job, no da.  And…I am planning on taking that full-time job."

Everyone at the table erupted in applauses, whistles and claps. Nuriko, who unfortunately happened to be sitting next to Chichiri, slapped him on the back with such force that Chichiri managed in time to stop his head from falling into the plate filled with pudding. "That's great, Chichiri," said Nuriko with delight. "At least it's a change from that monk thing you had going on."

Chichiri smiled at Nuriko, in agreement. 

Although Chichiri loved his spiritual life as a monk, he found later that it wasn't the right way of life, after he found Kouran again. If we all remember, Kouran was Chichiri's wife in the past, who killed herself for having an affair with Chichiri's best friend, Hikou. The latter was reincarnated as well, but, let's just say he found someone else. The last time Chichiri heard from him, was from a letter, saying that he had found the woman of his dreams and was going off to live with her in Rio de Janeiro. Chichiri was happy for him; and even happier that he would finally live the life he had wanted to live in the past with the one he loved. Kouran became pregnant with their first child, Keitaro, a year after their marriage. And three years later, their second son, Rinji, was born. Keitaro had grown up with Chuei (Tamahome's first born), Kano, Boushin, and Mai.

Mai is the only daughter of Mitsukake and Shoka, whom re-met in the real world. Mitsukake was a famous Brazilian football player, who also experienced the 'fan difficulty' as did Tasuki and Hotohori. Meanwhile, Shoka followed the profession of a pharmacist. Both were happily reunited when Mitsukake went to the pharmacy, where unknowingly Shoka was working in, to pick up some medication, prescribed by his doctor for a minor cold he had obtained from playing the rain. Yes, they married after a few years of filling in 'blank spaces' (which, unfortunately, they did not get the opportunity to do so in their past lives); and Shoka became pregnant with Mai, sometime later. As a child, Mai felt pretty lonesome as she grew up with the three boys in the Suzaku family, as she was currently the only girl. When Miaka gave birth to Sakura, Mai spent her time in taking care of the baby; and soon after, the other mothers followed suit , needing help for their newborns. And so, ever since little, Mai dreamt of becoming a doctor some day, which became a reality; Mai is a pharmacist, following the footsteps of her mother.

At that moment, Ryu, Tamahome's second son, walked towards the banquet, with Toshiro. They had been in the house earlier, but since they were bored out of their minds – mostly Ryu – they decided to go play bowling nearby.

"Hey lil' bro," yelled out Chuei. "How was the game? Who won?"

Ryu gave out a big sigh, walking sulkily towards the table. Toshiro laughed as he patted his friend's back. He admitted that Ryu was good, but he had to stop staring at the girls; that was a key.

"I can't believe it," Ryu said glumly. "I lost _and_ I totally humiliated myself, twice in one day."

"Cheer up, Ryu. There's always a next time," said Toshiro, assuringly.

"Yeah, Ryu-_chan_! The girls _love_ guys who are cocky!" said Kano, who laughed at his joke.

Ryu's eyes flared, forgetting his disappointing loss, and ran at Kano to strangle him. "_Don't call me –chan!_"

Luckily, Toshiro held fast to his furious friend, trying to calm him down. Rinji had gotten up to help him.

Kano was still laughing haughtily, unaware that his youngest sister was behind him. Rei smacked her brother upside the head, looking satisfied with her action.

Kano exclaimed a very loud 'ow' and rubbed his head. "What was that for?!"

"For being a insensitive moron. You don't even look at yourself!"

"You're just saying that because you have a crush on Ryu!"

Rei blushed, and stammered, "N-n-no, I don't!"

"Kano!" reprimanded his mother.

"What? It's true!" he answered back. "Besides, you'd think someone would want a girl like you – aggressive and horrible," he directed back to his sister.

Rei pouted her lower lip, and looked as if she was about to cry. Kano's angry face smoothed into regretful, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Rei. I shouldn't have said that. C'mere, will you forgive me?" He reached for his sister and dragged her to his lap, where she buried her face in his shoulder and nodded her head.

Tasuki looked at Kano, seriously. "Son, we better have a talk later."

"Yeah, dad. Sure."

Chuei laughed softly. "Heh-heh. Kano's screwed all ready." Keitaro laughed with him.

"Shut up," Kano growled back.

The table separated again into different groups for conversation, and Boushin took the opportunity to whisper into Sakura's ear, who nodded. In mutual agreement, Boushin asked that they both be excused from the table.

"Where are you going, Sakura?" asked Tamahome, with unease.

"No where, Daddy. I'm going off for a walk with Boushin," Sakura replied to her father, as Boushin helped her out of her seat.

"But…umm, don't you want more dessert?" he asked again, attempting to make her stay.

"No, I'm satisfied, Daddy. Can we go now?"

"But -" He tried again, but she had walked off with Boushin towards the lake, hand in hand.

"Oh, come now, Tamahome. They're in love. Why won't you leave them alone?" questioned Hotohori.

Tamahome glowered. "That's just the problem! She's in love – with a guy that's older than her by three years! And he's your son!"

Hotohori glared back. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't like my son?"

Miaka and Houki glanced worriedly at each other. Miaka was the first to remark, "Tamahome! I know you don't feel that way about Boushin! You treat him as if he were your own son! How can you say such things?"

Chichiri managed to open his mouth after the first shock, "I think Tamahome is jealous that Sakura has paid more attention to Boushin than to him, no da."

Everyone stared at Tamahome, who looked embarrassed from all the stares. Before another argument ensued, Chuei excused himself and the others from the table. The 'kids' went inside to start a bout of video game playing and gossip.

"Hah!" Tasuki laughed. "Who would've known that Tamahome, the little ghost, would be jealous of his best friend's son?"

"Shut up, Tasuki!" He grabbed Tasuki by the neck and shook him.

"Tamahome!" yelled Miaka.

"Tamahome, the way you feel is absolutely normal. But you must understand that Sakura is 18 years old, she's not a baby anymore," Hotohori stated, once the other warriors had made Tamahome release Tasuki, who had begun to turn blue.

"Yeah, Tama-chan. Hotohori-sama is right." Nuriko still had not dropped the '-sama' in Hotohori's name, since it was out of habit. "They're so much in love, and they deserve each other."

"Tamahome-san, if you don't support Sakura-chan, you'll break her heart," added Houki. "I know you'd hate yourself if you ever made her cry."

"Besides, Tamahome, Boushin is not like all the other boys you met," said Mitsukake, "Or should I say, freely harassed. He's part of the family, and he'd never do a thing to hurt Sakura."

Tamahome breathed out forcefully, and rubbed his face. "Yeah, you're all right. But, it's just this feeling –"

"Tamahome-san," interrupted Shoka, "It's a feeling that comes along with parenthood. Don't worry about it. Now, why don't we get this cleaned up, and then I'll make some fresh tea for us all."

"Mmm, sounds good, Shoka. You still have to teach me how to make tea the way you do," replied Reirei.

In half an hour, the table was clean, and everyone started to walk back to the house. Tamahome looked back, to see if Sakura and Boushin were returning back, but there was no sign of them. He was thinking of going to take a peek on them, when Hotohori patted him on the shoulder.

"Leave them alone, Tamahome. They'll be back, don't worry. Now, let's go inside. Tasuki might be preparing another drinking game."

Tamahome patted Hotohori on the shoulder in retribution, turned around, and they walked together towards the house.

*~*

When they arrived at the lake, which was covered by willow and eucalyptus trees purposefully, they sat down by the edge of the lake. Boushin had taken off his jacket so they could sit down on it; he took off his shoes and socks, and rolled up his pants to his shins.  Sakura did the same in taking off her sandals, rolling up her dress to her knees. They both dipped their feet into the lake, and cuddled, Sakura placing her head on Boushin's shoulder.

She sighed happily, at the beauty and peace that was around her, and that the love of her life was with her in this paradise.

Boushin watched her close her eyes, listening to everything that was around them. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

She moaned pleasantly. "Yeah, it is. I love the water lilies best; and at night, it's perfect, when the fireflies come out."

"I was talking about you, silly."

Sakura blushed, and swatted him on the arm. "Why do you do that?"

He chuckled. "Do what?"

"Make me feel like that. Like I'm the most precious thing in the world?"

He bent his to her ear, and whispered seductively, "Because you are."

She giggled. "Stop it. They might see us."

"Who? Oh, gods, don't tell me your dad followed us…"

"No! No, of course not! It's just that…what if he did?"

Boushin groaned. "Gee, I hope not. I don't need him finding me in another compromising position with his daughter. Gods know he might pound me into the ground, this time."

"Don't be silly. Daddy loves you. It's just that he thinks of me as his baby girl…"

"And I'm your sugar daddy," he said huskily.

Sakura laughed, as Boushin dragged them down. "You're so crazy."

"Crazy for you," he said as he kissed her on the cheek. "Only you." They kissed sweetly, reveling the closeness of each other.

Sakura opened her eyes a little to look at the lake, and moved slightly away from the kiss, which caused Boushin look up. "Look," Sakura said, breathlessly. "They're out. Aren't they beautiful when they glow at night? It's really romantic…isn't it?"

They returned their gazes to each other. "Very," Boushin replied. He kissed her one last time, softly, and laid down with one arm under his head and the other to wrap around Sakura's waist.

Sakura placed her head on Boushin's shoulder, and looked at the lake. Purposely, she laid her hand on Boushin's heart and whispered under his chin, placing a kiss there, "I love you, Boushin."

Boushin smiled, and tightened his hold on Sakura. "I love you, too, darling."

They stayed there in each others arms until they heard the too familiar shout of Sayuri to come inside.

To be continued…

*~*

Author's note: Right, my first Fushigi Yuugi fanfic…I had this written for a month and a half. But I haven't had the courage to post it up yet – you know, correction factors and stuff. Love that word – stuff. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it; I hope it wasn't too confusing for everyone about the family tree. I've added it before the chapter begins, just for reference. More Sakura and Boushin in later chapters, less of the other Suzaku kids. More of the wives as well…  

~Dralion Lily


	2. Chapter 2: The Pancake Escapade

**Precious Things**

_By: Dralion Lily_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. There! With that said, on with the story! :-) Oh, if anyone needs help with the names, may I remind you that the family tree is located at the top of the first chapter? I needed to look at it every once in a while myself. Heh…how embarrassing, as the author…ahem…

A.N: Replies to the reviews from the previous chapter are posted at the end of this one. Thank you for reviewing, and hope you keep up with 'Precious Things'!

**Rating: PG-13**

*~*

Chapter 2: The Pancake Escapade

*~*

Sakura had just woken up from a good night's sleep, and headed straight to the shower. She washed her hair with Boushin's favorite scent, jasmine; and as she scrubbed her arms with a ocean breeze-type soap, she remembered of the romantic walk at one of Tokyo's beaches with Boushin, a few months back. Before the walk, was an equally romantic dinner with candle light, in the most renown and expensive sushi restaurants in Tokyo. The restaurant was always full, and it was surprising that Boushin had gotten reservations in time.

_'He's such a sweetie,' Sakura thought. __'When he's not around my brother, Keitaro and Kano, that is.'_

Finishing her shower and wiping herself clean, she dressed into a pair of bell-bottom jeans and a pastel striped T-shirt, and headed downstairs. The smell of coffee and freshly made pancakes wafted itself in the air. _'__Has to be Auntie Reirei. She makes the best pancakes in Japan. Bet Kano and Uncle Tasuki begged her to do it.' Sakura giggled, as her stomach made itself known with a loud growl._

"Mmm…I'll bring a cup of coffee up to Boushin when I finish eating. He's probably still too tired from jet-lag."

"Talking to yourself again, Sakura? Hanging out with my brother can do that to you."

Sakura turned around and saw Sayuri walking towards her. Smiling, she replied, "Morning to you too, Sayuri. I was just thinking to myself."

"Yeah, and a bit loudly. So, what's planned for today? And _don't_ say it's hanging out with Boushin, 'cuz, brother, I've heard that _way too many times."_

Sakura laughed. "Sayuri, I swear, you're totally different from the rest of your family. They're so formal and discrete, and you… you're all the way out there."

"Hey, a girl's gotta have her standards," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, keep that up and your parents might end up kicking you out of the house some day."

When they reached downstairs, all the men were sitting in the living room, either reading newspapers or watching TV – but where were the women?

"Dad, where's mom and the others?," asked Sayuri to her father.

Without looking up from his newspaper, Hotohori replied, "She's in the kitchen, sweetheart. Tell her to hurry up with breakfast because we're all starving here."

Sayuri puffed at her father. "Geez, Sakura, will you look at this? Men, all grown up, lying on the couch, and waiting for their breakfast. And what's worse – they're organized. You just hear from one of them, and he's spoken for all."

"Sayuri-chan, no one asked ya to squabble, so get movin'," said Tasuki, with a smirk.

Sayuri put her hands up in the air, as if in defense.  "No prob, Uncle Taz. I'm on the move. Let's go, Sakura."

As they entered the kitchen, what they saw wasn't a kitchen but a disaster area - which the police should have left the yellow tape outside, commented Sayuri.

"Good morning, girls. Care to help us, as well?" asked Kouran, who was helping Reirei fry pancakes.

On the counter, that was situated in the middle of the kitchen, sat Sumi, Rei, Mai, and Kourin on one side of the counter, mixing bowls; on the other side sat Shoka, Junko and Chie arranging the plates with the pancakes. Miaka and Houki were on the stove frying some bacon and eggs to go along side the pancakes. 

"Of course, Auntie Reirei. Where do I begin?" asked Sakura.

"Right here, girl. You're too happy this morning." Sumi looked half-dead, as if she hadn't slept at all. "I can't stand it. It's giving me a headache," she added. Sumi was mixing the batter so slowly, and her head looked as if it was going to drop into the bowl any second.

"Whoa, Sumi." Sayuri had caught Sumi's head, before it actually landed in its target. "Why don't you go outside to the couch and take a nap? I'll take care of this with Sakura."

Sumi tried to stifle her yawn, as she stood up from her seat. "Nah, that's ok. I'll just…lay my head right here." She had walked to another chair, next to the girls. "Just call me whenever you need me, 'k?" And with that, she dozed off.

Sayuri whistled. "What happened to her? Long night?"

Rei snorted. "She was up all night talking to her boyfriend. Good thing we have separate rooms."

"Good thing _you're sisters." Sayuri added. "I don't think I'd get an ounce of sleep if I had to put up with a blabber-mouth like her."_

"Sayuri!" reprimanded Houki. "That's not a very nice thing to say."

Reirei laughed. "It's ok, Houki. Kids will be kids. I'm sure Sayuri was just joking."

Sayuri smirked. "'Course I was, Auntie. Sumi's like a sister to me. I'm just pulling her leg."

"Yeah, a little too hard," commented Sakura.

"Hey, watch it girl. You're next." Sayuri winked at her best friend.

"Argh! I can't mix any more! My arm is starting to hurt!" moaned Kourin.

"Yeah? Well, that won't be the only thing hurting if you don't keep on mixing. We have hungry men outside that look more like barbarians, than civilized gentlemen."

The mothers laughed at Sayuri's comment, more than the girls. The women were used to cooking big meals; and soon, so would their daughters. To think these family gatherings would fix them up by now…

"I wished they would do _something around this house. It feels like we're the only ones doing anything productive." Kourin had stopped mixing by now. She looked as if she were going to blow up from over-drive. She __really had put too much thought about the men-women separation at work._

"Oh, come now, Kourin," Mai said, comfortingly. "It's not like we're being treated as slaves. We actually enjoy doing this; it gives us some time to have private conversations, away from the men. …Right?"

Everyone had stopped to look at Kourin, waiting for her response, meanwhile exchanging looks between one another.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. I never thought of that," Kourin replied with a smile.

"Come on, girls. We need to hurry up with those pancakes," said Junko.

Rei groaned. "Why don't we switch places, Auntie Junko. We really _are getting tired."_

Chie giggled. "Dear, you need to do some exercise if you get tired that quickly from mixing a few bowls of batter."

Kourin looked slyly at Rei. "You should know, Auntie Chie, that Rei is too busy for exercise. She's more interested in dressing up for Ryu than anything else."

"Kourin!" Rei couldn't have been redder than a lobster. "That's not true! You're just like my brother. Maybe you two should get together," added Rei, just as slyly.

Kourin blushed, as her eye twitched. "_Me?! With that crude, good for nothing?" After a pause, she hastily added, "No offense, Auntie Reirei. But I would never__ consider him as a boyfriend. __Ever!"_

Sayuri laughed, along with everyone else. "Aww, look at that guys! She has the same temper as our beloved Kano. Wouldn't they look the couple? It's no use hiding it, Kourin."

Kourin was steaming. "Sayuri, you better shut your yap, or you might live to regret you ever spoke those words."

"Ooh, I'm quivering with fear."

"Girls," warned Shoka, "Be nice. It was only a joke, Kourin. Sayuri's jus –"

"Yeah, it's always a joke to Sayuri, to play with other people's love lives. I bet she doesn't have one of her own!" Kourin mixed the batter with a bit more force.

"Hey! That's crossing the line, Kourin," growled Sayuri.

Kourin smirked. She had hit the spot, all right. She decided to press on. "Come now, Sayuri. It was only a joke. But you must admit, you'd rather rant about Sakura's secret outings than your own. What happened?"

"Kourin, I think that's enou –" Sakura started to say.

"Shut up, Sakura," barked Sayuri. "I'm not finished with her. Watch it, lavender-head, my bark is worse than my bite."

Kourin had grabbed one of the bags of flour on the counter and placed some in her bowl, mixing it quickly, turning the liquid batter into thick cake batter. "We all know that, Sayuri. Why don't you impress us?"

Sayuri dropped her spoon in the bowl, and was about to roll up her sleeves when her mom scolded her. "Sayuri! Don't you dare! I don't want to see you two fighting. Now stop this at once, both of you!"

Kourin smiled, but it quickly turned into a guilty frown when she glanced at her mother. Junko was furious, and she had her arms crossed in front of her, with the addition of a frown on her face.

"Sorry, Sayuri. That was cold of me. I was just joking…"

Sayuri glared at her, which quickly smoothed out of her face. She smiled at her friend and shrugged. "Ahh, it's ok. It was my fault, as well. I should learn not to tease so much. We're still sisters?"

Kourin smiled. "Of course we are. If you did stop teasing, you wouldn't be who you are. It's all good."

"Cool. Then we better get this batter on the roll."

Everyone sighed. That was a close one, and it was normal that Kourin and Sayuri had an argument. Most of the time, Sakura had to play the mediator; and there was never a time when Sakura almost didn't come out with a black-eye. Luckily, Boushin was always there to help.

But it didn't look like Kourin was still satisfied with how the quarrel ended. "Sayuri, what actually _did happen with your last boyfriend?" she inquired._

Sayuri sighed. "He was a total jerk. He told me at the end of the relationship that the only reason he went out with me in the first place was to go to bed with me. I kinda figured it out mid-way through but, I just wanted to give him a chance."

Sakura hugged her best friend. She had heard the whole story, and remembered the night when Sayuri had come over to her house, with tears running down her face. Sakura knew that that guy was the first one to treat her best friend, literally, like shit. So when she saw him, one day, while shopping with Boushin, she slapped him in front of everyone - including his friends. Boushin was utterly shocked at the whole scenario, because he didn't know what had happened to his sister, nor why Sakura had slapped the guy in the first place. Later, when Sakura told him what had happened, he was fuming mad and wanted to go back to the mall to knock the crap out of the guy. Sakura had stopped him, after a bit of hassle, and reassured him that the guy had learned his lesson. And, in fact, nobody ever saw him again. Rumors had it that he had begged his parents to send him to Sapporo. They ended up letting him go, but they were as confused as anyone else to the reasons why he would want to leave Tokyo, his favorite city…or it was before, anyways.

Kourin smiled sadly at her friend. "Don't worry Sayuri. You'll find that perfect somebody, someday, just like our Sakura here." She pointed her spoon at Sakura, who was blushing cutely.

Sayuri grinned evilly. "Yeah, we'll all find our hubbies, and then, we can share our own escapades like Sakura here."

"S-Sayuri! I don't do any of the such," cried Sakura.

"Su~ure you don't! You just happen to take him breakfast because you _want to," Sayuri commented slyly._

"Of course. Because I want to. Wait a minute…hey! That's not fair!"

"Hey, hun, nobody said life was fair. In reality, you really like taking him breakfast – and, may I add, the after effects. You're all my witnesses, everyone!"

The mothers giggled, shaking their heads. Miaka and Houki smiled at each other, knowing that poor Sakura was getting way too much attention from her relationship with Boushin.

Sakura smiled, even with her profuse blush, and walked to Kourin's bowl. She had seen what Kourin had done to her batter, and decided to put it to good use. "Yeah, well, I heard you _really like pancakes." Sakura picked up a handful of batter and poised it up in the air, looking mischievously at her best friend. _

"Oh. You wouldn't dare," Sayuri bluntly stated.

Sakura smirked, and threw the batter at her friend's face. Everyone gasped; the mothers had stopped what they were doing, while the girls were laughing as if there was no tomorrow.

Sayuri spluttered, and wiped away some batter from her eyes. "So, you wanna play dirty, huh? Fine. I'm game." Sayuri had grabbed a packet of flour, quickly pouring it into her own batter, and stirred. Then, grabbing some in her hand, she aimed the batter at Sakura.

But Sakura had crouched and it ended up hitting Rei, who shrieked, and prepared her own batter, throwing it at Sayuri, but ended up hitting Mai. Mai fixed up her batter, and threw it, hitting Kourin. Kourin was fixing her batter, as Sakura made a run to the door; she saw the movement and aimed. Sakura knew that she wouldn't make it towards the door, so she hid behind Sumi. The batter hit Sumi, who woke up startled, and became extremely pissed off when she saw the batter on her. A war of batter commenced, and even the mothers joined in.

The kitchen, as well as the fighters, was now truly a disaster area. Sayuri was making a few war cries as she threw her batter, hiding behind the chair that was protecting her; whilst the other girls screamed as they got hit. 

Hotohori had decided to walk in at that moment, and stopped in his tracks at the sight. "What the heck is going on in here?" he asked. Unfortunately, he didn't see the incoming projectile flying towards him, thrown by his own wife, which hit him square in the face.

"Oh! Anata! Gomen!" But Houki laughed at the sight of her husband, covered in his own meal.

Hotohori spluttered, and turned around at the laughter of Tasuki, who had just entered. "Oh, you think it's funny, Tasuki? Why don't you," Hotohori paused as he grabbed a handful of batter from a bowl that was next to him and rubbed it into Tasuki's face, "_try some."_

Everyone in the room laughed, and as Tasuki grabbed some batter, Tamahome walked in.

"Hey, Tama-chan! Why don't you taste this!" Tasuki was about to throw it at Tamahome, when the latter was already hit by someone else.

Everyone gasped and turned to look at Sakura, whose mouth had turned into an 'oh.'

Miaka was trying to hold her laughter, with the occasional snort every once and a while sounding. 

Tamahome had wiped his eyes and stared at his wife. "Miaka, did you just – snort?"

Miaka shook her head negatively, her face red, and ended up snorting again.

"Well, I think you'll find this funny, _dear_." Tamahome had grabbed the batter that was in Tasuki's hand, and prepared to aim it at his wife.

"Oh! You wouldn't!" Miaka had her hands on her hips, and was still laughing at her husband.

Tamahome threw the batter, which hit his target, earning him a shriek. He laughed with everyone else, as Miaka declared another battle of pancake batter.  Soon, everyone had come into the kitchen, thankfully big enough for everyone to fit in.

Meanwhile, Sakura had run to the sink to wash her hands and prepare a breakfast for her and Boushin, while everyone else was distracted. She grabbed a plate with the all ready made pancakes, bacon and eggs, grabbed some toast from the toaster, and a mug of coffee and a glass of orange juice, placing it on a tray. She quickly headed to the door, to escape from the war zone, while snatching a napkin, fork, knife and spoon. Before she walked up the stairs, she placed the tray on the dining table, fixing the tray a bit more nicely. She added some sugar to the coffee, quickly stirring it, and grabbed a newspaper from the couch, tucking it under her arm. Grabbing a red rose from a vase on the nearest coffee table with her mouth, she walked saucily up the stairs.

When she reached Boushin's door, she knocked softly and walked in, since the door was ajar. Upon entering, she closed the door with her hip and walked towards the right side of the bed, placing the tray on top of his empty night table. The table was purposely empty for such occasions. The night table on the other side of the bed had a clock, a lamp and a picture frame with an image of the two of them at a theme park, taken about two years ago.

Taking one more glance at the picture, she turned away to watch Boushin, who was still sleeping soundly. She placed the rose at the side of the tray, along with the newspaper. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she reached out to move Boushin's hair away from his eyes, and tuck it behind his ears. She smiled when he moaned in his sleep and turned on his side towards her. She bent down to kiss his cheek, his temple, his forehead, his nose, and then his lips.

Boushin was fully awake as Sakura's lips fell on his own, and he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into the bed, and rolling them to the other side.

Sakura shrieked, which broke the kiss, and attempted to get out of Boushin's grip to avoid dirtying the bed, but failed. In defeat, she turned to look at Boushin and smiled at him. "Good morning, sleepy-head. Had a good night's rest?"

Boushin opened his eyes, and was about to smile until he saw Sakura's state. She looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy, except without the hat, and the fact that she was a girl. His shocked expression on his face disappeared, and he laughed so hard that tears were appearing at the corner of his eyes and he had to let go of Sakura to hold his sides.

Sakura blushed, embarrassed, and sat up to smack him on the arm and cross her arms. "Mou! It was Sayuri's fault! She started teasing me again."

Boushin gasped for air. "Yeah, but that doesn't make up for why you're looking so ridiculous." He broke into laughter again, breaking his last word.

"We were making pancakes, and there were a few fights…"

Boushin calmed down, and gasped for breath once again. "Ok. Enough said. I think I get the picture." He chuckled. "So, who started?"

Sakura pouted, and looked away from her boyfriend. He was too cruel, for a handsome man. "First, it was Sayuri and Kourin. And afterwards, Sayuri teased me, and I started the pancake thing."

"Oh, so _you're the mastermind behind all this." Boushin had picked up a piece of batter from her T-shirt, and threw it on the floor. Sakura was going to scold him for being messy, but he dismissed it. "Figures. My girlfriend – the culprit behind the pancake escapade." He leaned upwards to kiss her on the lips, which was batter-free. And yet, he couldn't help himself when he moved his lips to her cheek and licked, tasting the batter. "Hmm…not bad. A little bit too starchy."_

"Duh, Einstein. Pancake batter is supposed to be liquid. We added a lot of flour to make it heavier."

"Ok, ok. No need to be offensive." He shifted closer to Sakura so he could wrap his arms around her waist from his position. "So, want to share my breakfast?" he said with a cheeky smile.

"I _did bring enough for two. I'd be surprised if you ate all the food by yourself. You can be selfish at times," Sakura said, as she rolled over Boushin to sit on the other side of the bed again._

Boushin sat up and leaned against the headboard of his bed. "That's not true. You shouldn't say such lies about me, dear."

Sakura turned around to look at Boushin straight in the eye, their lips very close. "I know, _darling_. I was just pulling your leg," she whispered. She pecked him on the lips, and backed away, with the plate of pancakes, bacon and eggs on her lap.

Boushin looked at the meal for the first time. "Mmm. Smells good. Hey! Homemade scrambled eggs, my favorite. I'm tired of having that runny stuff at the hotels."

Sakura giggled softly, "I know." She grabbed a fork from the tray and scooping some eggs, brought the fork to her boyfriend's mouth. "Now, open up."

"How delightful. My girlfriend feeding me in bed," he smiled saucily.

"Don't get too used to it, buster."

They fed each other in turns, listening to the morning sounds of birds chirping outside. There were occasional kisses as they ate, savoring the sharing of tastes.

When they had finished, Sakura took the empty plate to the tray, and picked up the mug of coffee, handing it to Boushin. She took her glass of orange juice, and sipped at it slowly, watching him.

Boushin sipped at the coffee, and looked at Sakura mischievously. "Seems like my woman knows how to prepare a cup of coffee just the way I like it."

Sakura put down her glass on the tray, and waved the comment off. "I tried. I didn't know if it was _exactly the way you liked it. I was thinking of putting milk, but then I didn't know if you liked milk or cream in your coffee, so I…"_

"Whoa, Sakura. I told you it's perfect. Very strong, and with the right amount of sugar. No cream, no milk. Just the way I like it," he looked at Sakura, consolingly.

"Really? You're not just flattering me." She stared at her hands as if they were the most interesting thing at the moment.

"Hey," he said softly, cupping her chin and bringing her head up. "I'm not lying. Believe me. Remember? Trust in each other is what makes a relationship work out. That was the first thing I said when we started dating."

"Actually, the first thing you said when we started dating was, if I remember correctly, 'You're eyes look like shining emeralds - would you like to go to the café?'"

Boushin laughed. "Did I really say those two things all in one go? I was nervous, and if _I remember correctly, so were you. But, you do trust in me, don't you, Sakura?"_

Sakura melted with one look at his eyes. _'They're so beautiful… He's so beautiful.' "Yes, I do. Do you trust me?"_

Boushin smiled. "I do, darling. Now," he said, as he stretched his arms in the air, "I think we should get up and head downstairs before the day is over."

Sakura took his mug and placed it on the tray. "You're right. I better get washed up." She was getting ready to stand when Boushin wrapped his arms around her and brought her down onto the bed, the third time this morning.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked as he looked down at her.

"I'm going to take a shower, obviously. If you haven't noticed, I'm still sticky and I just dirtied your sheets. I have to get them washed up for you, so I better shower quickly." She attempted to get up again, but Boushin wouldn't let go of her. "Boushin, I—"

"How about we take a shower together? I'm going to take one as well, so why don't we take one together?" He asked it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He wasn't surprised at his bluntness; just watched Sakura, waiting for her reply, not an inch of embarrassment in him.

Sakura looked flabbergasted, and was blushing a great deal. _'B__oth of us…naked…together. Is he even thinking straight? Maybe he hasn't realized what he's just asked…' "Boushin, are you—"_

"Yes, I'm thinking perfectly straight. So what do you say?"

  He sure liked interrupting her at mid-sentence. She sat up and placed her hands between them. "Boushin, we can't! Someone might come and find us."

"No, they won't. The door is closed, and if they knock and no one answers, they won't come in."

"Yes, they will! They'll think we're hurt, or we're doing something we shouldn't be doing."

"Or, we're asleep."

"Boushin, what if it's one of our parents? It's wrong. We can't!"

"Sakura, you are so worried about something so small."

"It's not small, Boushin! It's a big deal! It's…it's…"

"Different, I know. I'm sorry. But, don't worry. The door will be locked, and the bathroom door will be closed. They won't come looking for us anytime soon, and we'll be quick. So there's nothing to worry about," he reassured her.

Sakura sighed deeply. She thought about it, and hesitantly replied back. "Ok. Fine, but, it's just so awkward."

Boushin stroked her cheek. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I won't do anything you don't want to do. It's just a friendly shower. No harm done."

Sakura looked at him through her eyelashes. She was scared, but there was a hint of longing in her eyes. "Promise?" she asked softly.

"Promise." Boushin kissed her softly on the lips and shifted off the bed, opposite Sakura. He rummaged through a drawer in his night table, and took out a pair of boxers. He walked towards a chair at the end of his room, which his robe was hanging at the back, and grabbed it. He then went to lock his door, _just in case_,he repeated in his head. Walking back to where Sakura was sitting, he offered her his hand. "Ready, princess?"

Sakura laid her hand on his, but then something occurred to her. "Wait. I don't have anything to wear."

"I have a spare robe behind the bathroom door. You can wear it. As for underclothes," he looked over her purposely with a smirk, which made her blush, "you can either wear a pair of my boxers, or you can walk around bare until you reach your room."

"You are _so naughty," Sakura remarked._

He winked at her, as he brought her to her feet. "You better believe it, honey." He smacked her small bottom lightly, which caused her to yelp.

"You'll pay dearly for that, _dear."_

"I'll hold you to that, sweetheart. Now, let's go. The shower is calling for us." He picked up Sakura and threw her over his shoulder, causing a yelp from her, and walked towards the bathroom door, both of them laughing happily.

*~*

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, the brigade was over, and what was left behind was a nasty after-effect. Everyone had ended up in the kitchen, wondering what was going on, and ending up joining in throwing blobs of dough at each other. Luckily, Kouran was smart enough to grab the edible food, and protect it by putting it in the oven. 

Later, they had all sat down together, laughing and teasing each other about what had happened just minutes ago, and ate the unspoiled food. After breakfast, the women kicked out everyone, even the daughters, to go wash up, whilst they cleaned up the kitchen.

Before Hotohori could walk up the stairs, Tamahome had grabbed him by the shoulder, lightly, which made him turn around. Hotohori looked at Tamahome with a curious look, wondering if anything was wrong.

Tamahome quickly answered, "I haven't seen Sakura since I entered the kitchen. Where could she have gone?"

Hotohori smiled reassuringly, "She probably went to take some breakfast up to Boushin. I'm sure she's fine."

Tamahome frowned. "Couldn't he have come down for breakfast?"

"Sakura probably wanted to make him a surprise, Tamahome. Didn't Miaka ever do that for you?"

Tamahome's face smoothed, as if a thought occurred in his mind – of old times. He shook his head, suddenly aware that he just showed his vulnerability to his friend. "Yeah, but – you're changing the conversation."

Hotohori raised an eyebrow. "Am I?"

"Well, she _is taking a long time, and I'm worried. Maybe something happened."_

Hotohori sighed. "All right, Tamahome. What do you think could have happened? They're still inside the house."

Tamahome glared. "What do you think, Hotohori. There are a lot of explanations I can respond to that."

Hotohori looked a bit upset at Tamahome's response. "Come now, Tamahome. Boushin would never force Sakura to any unmentionable situation."

"I wouldn't count on that," muttered Tamahome.

"Tamahome!"

"I'm sorry, Hotohori. But, please, you must remember they're still young. They may happen to do something."

Hotohori sighed again, this time a bit more frustrated. "All right, Tamahome. We'll split up and find them. It's not like they ran off together, out of the house. On the other hand, they're old enough to go wherever they want…"

"But not know what they do," continued Tamahome. He cleared his throat when Hotohori glared at him. Remembering the matter at hand, he replied to his friend from his earlier assent, "Thank you, Hotohori. I mean, I accept her and Boushin together. Honestly, I do. I…well, I…to tell the truth, I…wouldn't have had a-any other…"

Hotohori stopped Tamahome's stuttering, with a comprehensive smile and a pat on the back. "My word, Tamahome, I thought I'd never see the day you would admit that. I understand your preoccupation, and I will admit that I don't mind having Sakura as a soon-to-be daughter-in-law." He laughed at the dumbfounded look on Tamahome's face. "Come now, Tamahome. Let's look for our children. And I'll prove to you that they're not doing anything that they shouldn't be doing. They're probably in their own rooms."

"All right. We'll split up. I'll go to Sakura's room, and you'll go check on Boushin."

*~*

Tamahome had checked Sakura's room, to find it empty. The bed was made, the bathroom clean – everything in its place. Which he found strange. It seemed that she was still in Boushin's room. _But the whole morning?_

He was walking up to Boushin's door, when he saw Hotohori walking around the corner with keys at hand. Tamahome stopped in his tracks, with a worried expression on his face. "Is something wrong, Hotohori?"

Hotohori had just reached the door and stopped in front of Tamahome. "Well, when I got here, the door was locked, and I knocked but no one answered. That got me a bit worried, so I went to get the keys. I'm sure they're stuck inside and they've been waiting for a while for someone to get them out."

"Yeah, I bet. Poor kids. Well, what are you waiting for? Open the door, Hotohori."

"Right." Fitting the key into the keyhole, he unlocked the door and opened it. The two men entered the room and looked around, seeing it empty and the bed still unmade. They were about to call for their respective children when the bathroom door opened, making them look in that direction.

A laughing Sakura came out, clad in nothing but a towel around her body and another one on her head. A toweled Boushin was right behind her, reaching his arms towards her waist and laughing as well. Boushin looked up, sensing someone else in the room, and his laughing came to a halt. His face was unreadable, a mixture of shock, embarrassment and worry. Sakura's smile faltered a bit when she heard Boushin stop laughing, and looked in the direction he was looking. Her smile disappeared completely, and she gasped, unconsciously clutching the robe closer to her body.

The room was extremely quiet. Tamahome and Hotohori looked at their kids, shocked, and neither one shared any words.

Boushin stared at the two adults as if they were his death sentence. "Dad…Tamahome-san…"

And Sakura looked as if she was a doe, caught in a car's headlights. All the blood had rushed away from her face, and all that she could muster up to say was a solid whisper, of worry and shame, "Daddy…"

To be continued…

*~*

Author's note: Oh yay! I finally finished this chapter. It took me a whole month to write this. I suffered from writer's block, which shouldn't be happening since I'm a beginner writer. I should have tons of ideas to write. Dammit, I hate it when my mind becomes a complete blank!! Well, I left you all at suspense, I hope. Wondering what will happen to Boushin and Sakura? And how will Tamahome react? Please, (I'm actually begging here) read and review, give me any suggestions if you wish, I'm going to really need them (honestly). So, see you all in the next chapter of _Precious Things!_

~Dralion Lily

Replies to Reviews:

marzoog : Thank you so much for your reply! Sorry I couldn't update any sooner to post the second chapter! I hope you're still reading!! -

Chibi Leelee Milo : ^-^ I'm glad you like it! I tried… Thank you so much for replying!


	3. Chapter 3: Trouble on Shore Part I

**Precious Things**

_By: Dralion Lily_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. But I do own Sakura and the rest of the Suzaku kids, except Boushin. Awww…I wished I owned him; bet he's as cute as his father. Hehe. Ahem…right, to the story.**

A.N: Check at the end of this chapter for answers to reviews from the previous chapter. Thanks for reviewing! And, sorry for the delay! Gomen!!

A.N2: There are slight spoilers in this chapter. You're warned…!

A.N3: A lot of appearances of the Fushigi Yuugi family. If you get confused, go to the top of the first chapter to see the 'Family Tree'.

**Rating: R, due to slight swearing and slight sexual implications…**

*~*

Chapter 3: Trouble on Shore Part I

*~*

"Daddy…" Sakura stood shaking, embarrassment flooding her very being. She couldn't stand seeing the two disappointed faces looking at her. The little girl inside her begged, _'But what _have_ I done? It was harmless…' _whilethe older her responded, _'What counts at the moment is what it looks like. They won't understand…They won't listen.'_ Sakura felt like shrinking a thousand times her normal size, but all she could do was look down at the floor. 'Sorry' wouldn't cut it this time.

Boushin was embarrassed, as well; just looking at the faces in front of him made him feel stupid for forgetting that his father had a key to this room, upset for getting Sakura in this mess, and embarrassed for being seen half-naked in a room with his equally half-naked girlfriend. It was too quiet in the room, but no one dared to talk. Too many reasonings were flowing through each of their heads - explaining the current situation, or on what do to next. Boushin looked at Sakura and saw her with a sad expression. He never meant things to go too far – not that it did. But, if Sakura was sad, he always sought to fix the wrongs.

With one last glance at Sakura, Boushin mustered the courage to explain the situation to the two men. "Dad, Tamahome-san, I can explain everything. You see, Sakura came to bring me breakfast, and then we decided to take a shower together, but noth—"

Tamahome and Hotohori woke from their startled disposition when Boushin began to talk. Neither had heard his first words. They blinked a couple of times, thinking that this was all but a bad dream.

When Tamahome heard the word 'shower' and saw the state of undress his daughter was in, his temper snapped, and he interrupted Boushin before he could say anymore. "I don't want to hear it." He raised his hand and continued when Boushin attempted to explain, again. "I said I don't want to hear it, Boushin. The scene explains itself."

Boushin spluttered. He looked at his father for comprehension, but the older man just looked aside, shaking his head. That gesture explained more than words could: he couldn't do a single thing to help his son – he was on his own. Boushin was discouraged, but he had to reach Tamahome or he'd never see Sakura ever again. "But, Tamahome-san, you have to hear me out! It's not what it looks like."

Tamahome's eyes blazed with rage; he had to will himself to control or the young man would be eating wall for the next few days. He didn't look at Hotohori, to see if he would aid his son; for once in his life, Tamahome was right in being mad, and it felt really damn good. 

Before he could continue blaming Boushin in getting himself and his daughter in this predicament, Sakura interrupted. "Daddy, Boushin's right. It really isn't what it seems. Nothing happened, it was completely innocent. You have to believe me – no, us. We didn't do what you're thin—" Sakura spoke her words in a rush, trying to get to her father, after her boyfriend's failed attempt. 

But once again, her father interrupted; he couldn't believe that Sakura was actually standing up to the guy that – no, he wouldn't even think about it now or he might accomplish in doing something extremely irrational. He took a deep breath before he continued, "Sakura, what I'm thinking right now, I can't even put in words. I can't believe that you'd stand up for this, this – no, let me finish, young lady, don't interrupt me. It's not just his fault, it's your own fault as well for letting him lead you on like that. And that's what really dis—"

"But, Daddy, nothing happened! If you'd just listen—"

"Enough! I don't want to hear another word. You, go to your room young lady," Tamahome pointed at the door.

"It was just a shower," Sakura pleaded, her tone becoming discernible from the decreasing tone.

"Sukunami Sakura, if I tell you the first time to do something, you do it. No excuses; now go, before I make it permanent that you never see Boushin again."

Sakura looked down at her hands, giving up hope in convincing her father what was honestly true. She was so deep in thought, she didn't notice Boushin curl his hand in hers, until he squeezed it. She looked up into his eyes, her eyes reflecting the conflicting emotions inside her. His eyes also showed hurt, so she made a small smile to not discourage him completely, to tell him that something would eventually be done to correct this. Boushin slightly nodded his head in agreement, and watched her as she walked out of the room, not even once glancing at the other two men, who watched her as she went.

When Sakura left the room, Tamahome turned sharply to glare at Boushin. Boushin was so surprised by Tamahome's sudden movement, and nervous under his glare, that he stepped back. Tamahome felt annoyance just looking at the boy, and the urge to yell at him was so great, that he almost did. What stopped him was Hotohori's hand on his shoulder, and, surprising enough even for Hotohori, who is usually portrayed as a dignified figure, there was an imploring look in his eyes. Tamahome looked back at Boushin, and his angered frown softened somewhat. This was his best friend's son; he couldn't treat him like the dirt that tested his patience and abused Sakura in every which way possible to get to her – _like some of those idiots at school_, Tamahome thought. No, Boushin wasn't like that at all, and Tamahome knew it – and that was as factual as a fact could get.

Tamahome sighed loudly, while running his fingers through his hair. He began with a question, contraire to how he was going to start, "Boushin…what were you thinking?"

Boushin wanted to respond to that. At the first few tries, he couldn't – his throat was clenched so tightly, it was a wonder to him that he could even breathe. "Tamahome-san, I-I…I'm sorry, sir. I never wanted to position myself on your bad side."

Tamahome chuckled at that response, but quickly disguised it with a cough. Sternly, he continued, "Listen, Boushin. I understand that you wanted to get closer to Sakura; honestly, I do. But, the shower idea, went a little overboard." He paused, giving enough time for the boy to digest what he had said. "Boushin, Sakura's still young. She's only eighteen, and I think she's not ready for such a commitment, yet." He looked at Boushin, whom looked as if he were just contemplating on the matter. He seemed – _curious; maybe guilty_, Tamahome assumed. And, out of nowhere, he asked the question, "Have you ever thought of what Sakura wanted?"

Boushin looked up, startled. He'd asked himself that question millions of times. To him, what Sakura wanted was the most important thing, and that always came first – when it was possible, that is. He hadn't actually _forced_ Sakura to take a shower with him; rather, in the way he saw it, he persuaded her. And perhaps, now that he was reconsidering things, perhaps he _had_ gone a bit too far. Perhaps, Sakura wasn't ready for it – he wasn't ready for it. He let out a big sigh, which surprised him, and he looked up at Tamahome, just to be sure he hadn't heard it. He had though, because one of Tamahome's eyebrows was arched up. His only escape – to justify himself. "Tamahome-san, I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. I should have thought of Sakura first."

"Now, Boushin –"

"No, Tamahome-san, I'm the one that persuaded Sakura. She has no fault in this. If there is blame to be placed, it should be on me, and me alone." Boushin bowed his head, expecting the older man to give reprimand. Inside, he hoped that it wouldn't be the worst of punishments, the one which constantly haunted him – to never see each other again. No, that would be too cruel of him…

"Boushin, if you're wondering if I'll demand the separation of the both of you, I won't." Boushin looked up, his eyes wavering, as if in shock. Tamahome looked a bit bashful. "What? I'm not that heartless, Boushin!" He smiled at the boy, whom smiled back, happiness and thanks emanating from the younger man. Hotohori also looked at Tamahome; his smile was unmistakably a proud and gratified one. Tamahome cleared his throat, there was just one more detail he had to know before he left this matter behind. "Boushin…I just have one more question to ask. Did you two…that is, when you were in the bathroom, d-did you see…"

Unexpectedly, and in the most inopportune of times, and as if it were his sole 'duty,' Kano, who was eavesdropping outside, appeared leaning on the doorframe with a impish smirk on his face. "He means if you and Sakura saw each other buck naked, Bou-_chan_. You should have been able to translate that at the blink of an eye."

With a remark like that, who wouldn't be shocked! All three men stood paralyzed to the ground; mouths gaping, faces red from embarrassment that might have shamed Rudolf the reindeer's nose, staring at the most indiscreet person they've ever met with almost wide, popped-out eyes.

Maintaining his current position on the doorframe, he stared at Boushin mercilessly. "Well, Boushin, what's the answer? We're all _dying_ to know." He fanned his hand over the room, as if there were an existing audience to judge Boushink, at the mentioning of his answer.

Boushin's blush did not falter, and, unconsciously, he began to fiddle with his fingers. "Well…you see, umm…we didn't, umm, quite…uh, _see_ each other. It's, uh, complicated because…Sakura didn't…"

"Ah, Boushin, Boushin. You disappoint me. I thought you'd have the guts to at least look at a pretty girl's body." Boushin and Tamahome's eyes flared alike at the rude boy. "If you were like other men, you would have." He tsked at his bashful friend. "Shame, really. You see, if you don't understand yet," he continued at the confused look on Hotohori's face, "Sakura was so unsure about the whole situation that they _did_ end up taking the shower together, but, shall we say, butt-to-butt only?" He snickered at their faces; it really was a Kodak moment…

"Ka –!!" The three started to reprimand him, but were inconveniently interrupted by –

"KANO!!! You insufferable asshole! Can't you be any more of a jerk than you all ready are?!" That was the unmistakable screaming of Kourin, who was currently running down the hallway towards Kano. The latter took notice of her in time and began running his own way to safety, laughing in the meantime of the whole predicament. Kourin, being the maddened and violent female that she was, inheritance from her dear father, ran after him with a candle holder. Unfortunately, _she_ had also heard the conversation – well, part of it – but had the decency not to interrupt. She rushed past the door to Boushin's room with the speed of lightening – it almost, just almost seemed like a cloud of dust trailed after her.

Of course, the scene made the three men in the room to laugh – a scene like that would have made any person to. Although it was practically every day that the whole family went through these almost stupendous and unforgettable events, it brought laughs and often hysteria to see that indeed, history does not change at all.

"Boushin," Tamahome said when the humorous mood began to melt away, "as I said before, I approve of you dating my daughter. In fact, I've never seen her so happy since the both of you began to go out together. But, don't take this as a warning, more of a plead. I'd rather that if, and only if, you two decide to be closer together, besides from…from…"

"Kissing, sir?" continued Boushin.

"Yes, that." Tamahome cleared his throat. "I'd rather that you two would, uh…carry out the other, uh, _proceedings_ if you had future plans. I know I'm sounding a bit old fashioned," quickly added Tamahome at the look of Hotohori's arched eyebrow, "but, as a father in care, I'd like it if you two went a littler slower."

"What Tamahome is trying to say, son, is that you two can be the normal couple in love as you two usually are. Just that, when you decide to get a bit more intimate, do it away from prying eyes."

Boushin smiled at Tamahome's following coughs and fidgets. "If you don't mind me adding, we did _do_ that – umm, not meaning to correct you, Tamahome-san. But, it's just that, the two of you barged in on a kind of private moment, sir."

"Oh…uh, well, yes, you're right. I'm sorry about that. Well, then, Boushin, how about next time one of you two warn us, hmm? It would be a bit more obvious that you wouldn't want to be interrupted…or maybe you could just keep it bottled up until –"

"Tamahome!" scolded Hotohori.

Tamahome looked sheepishly at the other man. "Well, it was worth a try," he said with a shrug.

Hotohori shook his head, as his wife entered the room. "Goodness, what's going on? I heard some yelling up here, and then Kourin and Kano came flying down the stairs." Houki was still plastered with flour and pancake batter, since she had just finished cleaning the kitchen. Due to her current state, there were curious smiles on the three men. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, dear," replied Hotohori. "You," he chuckled out, "you look fine. And there's nothing here you have to worry about. We just had a…uh, talk amongst men."

Houki folded her arms in front of her, her usually calm face turned to a slight frown. "Oh, really, now? Then one of you can explain to me if this 'talk amongst men' had anything to do with Sakura running to her room, in tears?"

Boushin gasped; _his_ Sakura - _in tears_? A small voice in his head told him that he had made those tears. Concern flooded through him as he looked at Tamahome, who also looked just as apprehensive.

"Sakura. Oh, gods, I forgot about her. I better go check on her." Before he left the room in a rush, Tamahome looked at Boushin, and nodded, finalizing that the discussion had ended and that everything would be all right.

Boushin also prepared to run out of the room, but his father stopped him in mid-tracks with an extended arm. "Son, maybe you should get dressed up first. You wouldn't want the rest of the household wondering why you were walking around the house half naked, and prove Kano's theory right, would you?" Hotohori scanned the boy up and down as he said this.

Boushin blushed. _That damn Kano is going to pay if he as so much utters one word about this_, Boushin thought. "Uh, yes, you're right. Uh, excuse me." He ran to the bathroom to quickly dress.

Meanwhile, Houki walked up to her husband. "Dear, what happened? This wasn't a normal discussion, was it? Poor Sakura was so distressed, she didn't even stop when we called to her. She just ran to her room, clad in nothing but a towel."

Hotohori sighed; his wife - in fact, everyone would find out sooner or later. He ran a hand through his hair, and kept it there for a while. In his mind, the recent events flooded through his mind as he prepared to tell his wife the short version of what happened. "Tamahome and I walked in as Boushin and Sakura came out of the bathroom. They'd taken a shower together, and it caused Tamahome to flare. Surprisingly, though, Tamahome calmed down, in the end."

Houki placed a hand on her cheek, her mouth shaped in an 'o.' "So, in the beginning, Tamahome's temper got the better of him. Oh, that poor dear," she said, referring to Sakura. "Tamahome only wants the best for her."

"Yes," responded Hotohori. "But he can be too overprotective at times. Sakura's a grown young woman. Tamahome should learn how to control himself and let Sakura make her own decisions."

"Hmm," reflected Houki, "Just like you let Sayuri? You made our child a rebel, Hotohori."

They both laughed.

"Well, every man has his mistakes."

"_Mistakes_, dear? Are you saying Sayuri is –"

"Now, now, dear. I only meant that we were a bit more strict with Boushin, than we were with Sayuri. We were more open with her. That's all."

Unfairly interrupted, in Hotohori's opinion, Boushin came out of the bathroom, dressed in khaki shorts and a semi-loose blue T-shirt. Glancing at his parents quickly, he prepared himself to walk out of the room, towards Sakura's. "Ok, I'm going to go see her now."

Hotohori stopped his son, again. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and smiled. "Son, I'm very proud with the way you handled the situation. I couldn't have done any better."

"Au contraire," replied Houki, modestly. "Your father probably might have had a war with Tamahome if he was in your place."

Hotohori looked flabbergasted at Houki. "Houki! Would you stop reminding me about that!"

His wife looked at him straight in the eye. "What? I was only commenting to another situation. Poor Miaka, she got all the attention back then. And, might I add, swords are considered quite dangerous now as a means of play –"

"It wasn't play, woman! I drew my sword in the best of interests. Besides, Tamahome was poisoned with kodoku."

"That makes no justification to you injuring Tamahome then!"

As the couple continued their bickering, Boushin walked out of the room, laughing. It was pretty funny watching his parents fight. Every once in a while, a swear word would come flying out.

His thoughts cleared when he saw Chuei at the stairway looking at him. His girlfriend's big brother looked extremely upset, seemingly trying to decide whether he should go to Sakura's room or walk up to Boushin to ask what had happened. _Sakura…, _Boushin thought, _Geez, all this in one morning. It's better if I go check on her. Chuei and the others will have to wait later for explanations_. He kept walking to the other side of the house where Sakura's room was located. He passed by Chuei, who didn't utter a word, but just watched his friend walk down the hallway. 

Chuei had a hint of what had happened; he knew that something like this would, eventually. He was just contemplating if he should go comfort his little sister, or drag Boushin to do the job. After all, Boushin had caused this uproar. His sight shifted to Sayuri, who had stopped to talk to her own brother. Boushin nodded, and continued his way down. Sayuri watched the retreating back for a while, then made her way towards Chuei.

Sayuri sighed, a few feet away from Chuei, whose eyes held questioning. "I left a good while ago, so I don't really know if everything's ok now. She was really distressed, so your mother and I tried to cheer her up a bit."

Chuei was leaning on the stairway post, his arms crossed over his chest. "So, did they end up catching them in bed?"

Sayuri stopped three feet away from him, a bit of anger flared in her eyes. "Chuei! How could you think of your sister getting herself into that kind of situation? That's my best friend you're talking about!"

"What? She's like every other raging hormones-teenage girl. Why wouldn't she? And I know you're _definitely_ not defending your brother because that'd be totally wrong. He, like every other guy, would rush into the opportunity."

Sayuri wasn't the kind of person who let her temper get the best of her. She was more of the kind of person that acted on her emotions. So, what she did next wasn't totally unconscious – she slapped Chuei across the face, causing the young man to lose his balance. 

Luckily, he grabbed the hand rail in time before he went spiraling down the stairs. He rubbed his offending cheek with his free hand, glaring at Sayuri. As he ran towards Sayuri, shocking her into stupor, he pushed her against the wall opposite the staircase, clasping the girl's wrists in his hands, above their heads. 

Sayuri quickly analyzed her current situation. She tried to free her hands from his grasp, push him off of her, step on his feet – all to no avail. If it were any other guy, she would have pounded him, flipped him, shoved him in a trash can. But Chuei, she snickered just thinking of it, had inherited his father's strength. "What the heck to do you think you're doing?" she muttered, as she fiercely looked him straight in the eyes.

"I could ask you the same question, Ms. Won," he growled.

"You insensitive jackass. Your sister's crying in her room, wondering if she's going to be celibate for the rest of her life, and you're here wondering if you could have me for dessert," she spat.

"I was n –"

"Well, you were thinking it! That's close enough," Sayuri retorted. Both of them glared at each other for a while. "Chuei, if you weren't my brother's best friend and my best friend's brother, I'd kick your ass right now."

"No, you wouldn't," he reminded her, clutching her wrists a bit tighter, which caused her to hiss. There was an mischievous gleam in Chuei's eyes that caught Sayuri's breath. And the way their bodies were pressed together…Their faces were so close, they were practically breathing on each other. 

_No, Sayuri. Gotta stop thinking about…dirty things. Especially with this…idiot_, she thought. Trying to change the subject from where it was currently heading, she quickly stated, "You're just as overprotective as your father. Why won't you two learn to just let her go! She needs space and you're not giving it to her!"

"It's not your business to meddle into our family!"

"Well, it is _my_ business because if I recall correctly I'm just as much you're family as everyone else is! And Sakura's as much family as my own brother!"

"You should learn to stay out of certain things, Sayuri."

"And you should learn to stop harassing girls my age, Chuei." At her last word, Sayuri head-butted Chuei in the head, causing the latter to drop her wrists and grasp his head. Chuei moaned in pain, as he shook his head to clear his vision, ready to make a comeback; but Sayuri was way ahead of him. She flipped him over to her other side, and straddled his chest while her hands reached for his neck, giving him no time to react as the wind was knocked out of him.

Fortunately for Chuei, some of the Suzaku kids and parents had overheard the commotion and had come running up the stairs from the lower flight to see what was going on. Tasuki picked up Sayuri, stopping her from suffocating Chuei, and held on to her fast, with the help of Chichiri, as she made to jump on the floored boy, again. Nuriko helped Chuei up, holding him still as he seemed to have the same thing in mind as Sayuri.

Chichiri was the first to speak, "What's going on? You two never fought like this before, no da."

"I'd say it was a lover's quarrel," Tasuki laughed.

But Sayuri didn't think it funny. "That idiot is more concerned whether his own best friend slept with his little sister, than her current emotional state!" she barked.

"That's untrue and unfair, and you know it!"

"It is not! Because the first thing you asked was whether or not Boushin took her to bed!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did, coming from your side of the family!"

Sayuri gasped, seriously offended. "Look who's talking! You said so yourself that every guy would take any girl to bed when they'd get the chance."

"I didn't say any girl – "

"You implied it! I bet you're the man-whore of the family, Chuei!"

They lunged at each other at the same time. The other Suzaku kids at watch saw how serious this was becoming, so they helped the only way they could, by holding the two to their grounds. Ryu, Toshiro and Keitaro held on to Chuei whilst Rinji and Sumi held onto Sayuri. Hotohori and Houki had also walked down the hallway to see what was happening.

"For your information, Sayuri, I have a girlfriend and I care for her very much! I wouldn't cheat on her with some other woman I'd happen to meet."

That made Sayuri stop in her tracks. Inside, it felt like her heart was stomped over billions of times…_just like the last time_, she thought. She shook her head. No, she was determined not to cry in front of everyone, to not give Chuei the pleasure in seeing her cry. But her eyes definitely showed hurt, and Chuei saw it just as much as everyone else did; yet her face held pride and determination. She saw Chuei's face smooth to – _concern, pity? I don't want any of it…especially from him!_ She shook her arms so that the others that were holding her would let go. "For _your_ information, _Giant **Jack**_, Boushin and Sakura did _not_ sleep with each other. They took a shower together, but nothing happened. Now that you know the truth, maybe you'll start considering how your father reacted and how your sister feels." She began to walk to her room, passing Chuei without looking. Her parents, which she passed as well, did not stop her, although there was concern for their daughter, wondering how much of what had just happened affected her.

All was quiet for a while. Everyone kept looking back and forth between themselves, trying to figure out who was going break the silence first.

"What do you think she meant by Giant Jack?" asked Ryu, making regular conversation of the situation.

Sumi looked at him funny, but figured that Sayuri's earlier combination of words would confuse anyone. "You know the green giant from the string bean commercial?"

"Yeah."

"Well, him. Sayuri made this theory that he's green from envy, 'cuz he hasn't met Mrs. Green yet. Then the Jack part…well, you know, jackass?"

"Ohh!" Ryu laughed. "Hey, that's pretty clever! Maybe I should use tha –"

"Ryu," groaned Toshiro, "did you forget what just happened here?"

"What? I was making idle conversation. Y'know, trying to lift the pension in the atmosphere."

"Dude, the clouds 've gotten to your head," remarked Rinji.

Nuriko and the others had long ago let go of Chuei. "I've never seen them argue like that before," Nuriko commented openly. "Sayuri's never angry with Chuei; they never had the cause to."

They all looked at Chuei, who was currently looking at Hotohori. The older man was also staring at the young man, his glance piercing, asking, upset.

Chuei felt guilty; if the others had arrived sooner, they would have seen why his last words to Sayuri had attacked her so. He didn't mean to press her against the wall, to feel her curves against his body, to breathe the air that was Sayuri, to… _Holy…! I'm not falling in love with her…am I? I can't…there's Jade. I love her…don't I? Damn it, I'm so confused. What's wrong with me? _Frustrated, Chuei sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his hair, out of habit. He glanced at Hotohori, who was still staring at him. He couldn't tell the older man what happened, yet. Hell, he didn't even know! He resorted to bowing his head and excusing himself, walking away from the crowd that had gathered and to the Sukunami's side of the house. Sayuri's words were flowing in his head – _'consider how your sister feels…'_ Yeah, he'd go check how his kid sister was doing. Wait – when did Sayuri start flying through his mind?

Hotohori watched the young man leave. He was extremely upset, and was preparing to go after him when his wife grabbed his arm lightly, stopping him. 

"Dear, leave him be, for now. He might be going to check on his sister. Besides, I don't think Sayuri would like it if you meddled in her business."

"Yes, but he hurt her! I want to know what hap –"

"Darling, you're beginning to act like Tamahome. You know, you should take care of that. It could be quite contagious," Houki joked, with a slight smile.

"Woman, that's not funny," frowned Hotohori.

"I know, dear. I know. But it seems to get you every time," Houki softly laughed. "Listen, I'm going to see if Sayuri is all right. Take everybody downstairs. I'm sure Shoka has some tea and brownies made. We can't waste the rest of the day after this unfortunate delay. We promised Kouki-kun –"

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot. But," Hotohori whispered in his wife's ear, as he enclosed her in his arms, "you and Miaka will have all the explaining to do."

"About what?" she inquired, as she looked up to her husband's laughing eyes.

"About what happened in Boushin's room."

"Well, I wouldn't know about it. You and Tamahome were the ones that were there!"

"Yes, but, we're tired old men, so…you'll have to do the explaining. Besides, I know how much you women _love_ gossip." He quickly added, at the frown on Houki's face, "You were going to check on Sayuri. And don't you dare try to warn Chuei that I'm after his head."

"Oh, don't you worry, I won't. But…then you'll be the one that will have some explaining to do." She said this, tapping her finger up along his chest to his nose.

"And why's that?" Hotohori asked, as he rubbed his nose with his wife's.

"Because you will have to explain to Tamahome why you killed his first born," she replied smartly.

"Minx," Hotohori breathed, as he kissed his wife, with a deep caress.

"Eww, gross!" called out the Suzaku kids that were present. "Get a room!"

"Hey, no one complains when we see you kids smooching. So, get all of your butts downstairs, I smell some brownies," reasoned Tasuki, as he practically shoved everyone down the stairs.

The couple had separated, and Hotohori watched his wife turn around the corner, before he joined the others at the stairs.

"Gently, you overgrown baboon," yelled Nuriko, his hands itching to throw Tasuki so _he'd_ be the first downstairs.

"Tasuki, you're always thinking with your stomach, no da!" called Chichiri. 

"You will be lucky if Nuriko doesn't send you flying to the lake, Tasuki," Hotohori laughed. And so it went on, as they went down the stairs to wait for the others in the household to join them later on. After all, the rest of this beautiful, summer day couldn't be wasted…

To be continued…

*~*

A.N: Yep, the rating went up due to the contents of this chapter. And it still might go up one more if I decide to write a lemon. :devilish grin: 'IF' being the key word, though. 

For all those wondering, Chuei called Sayuri 'Ms. Li' because Li happens to be Hotohori's last name. Get it? Reincarnated – new life? Plus, I think I read it that Hotohori's reincarnated form in the real world was Li – translated special story from the series' soundtracks.

There is going to be a second part to this chapter, and perhaps a third. They didn't quite seem to fit in with this one, so they were separated. The second part will be about what happens in Sakura's room after Tamahome sent her away; and then the third might be about Sayuri vs. Chuei. If this story seemed a bit rushed, I'm sorry. 

Just as a reminder, I'm keeping the rating as 'PG-13' because, most probable, the whole story won't have graphic scenes. Therefore, I'll post the rating of each chapter as a reminder, at the top. Also, change of rating will be posted on chapter menu.

Again, thank you to all my reviewers, who have been great in reading and…well, reviewing. Hope you keep reading! All your reviews keep me inspired! Thanks again!

~Dralion Lily

Replies to Reviews:

Lanen: ^-^ I never thought I'd make this fic humorous…wow, what a great turn of events! Thanks!

Kimi-chan: I was thinking of making Tamahome as the caring and very concerned father – kinda like the overprotective boyfriend he was with Miaka in the series. ::giggles:: Thanks for your ideas! I'll take them into consideration…! Wouldn't it be weird if all the Suzaku kids got paired up together? o.O?


	4. Chapter 4: Trouble on Shore Part II

**Precious Things**

_By: Dralion Lily_

**Disclaimer:** No~o, I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. It'd be a great present, though. Hehe.

A.N: For all those that reviewed the previous chapter, check out the replies at the end of this installment. Thank you so much! Your reviews mean a lot!

**Rating: R, due to language and sexual reference**

*~*

Chapter 4: Trouble on Shore Part II

*~*

Once she was a good few feet away from Boushin's doorway, Sakura broke at a run. She couldn't stop the tears coursing their way down her cheeks. The way she was feeling was beyond horrible. She couldn't believe her father's words; but, they kept repeating themselves in her head, _'…I make it permanent that you never see Boushin again.'_  Had what they'd done been so terrible that her father would go to such extremes? She never wanted to disobey her father, never wanted to shame him, her family. She couldn't blame Boushin; it wasn't all his fault. They were so much in love – and it felt like the right thing to do at the time. _…It felt so right_, she acknowledged in her thoughts.

She ran to her room, just as her father had told her to, just as she was brought up to do since she was little. Her breaths came in short gasps as her crying clogged her throat. Her visage was blurry from all the tears, but she kept going, trying to avoid running into the walls. As she ran, she failed to notice her mother, Houki and Sayuri standing at the stairs, watching her run past them, with surprise and concern in their eyes. They called after her, but she didn't hear them, as blood pumped in her ears, tears continuing their course down to her chin.

Sakura opened the door to her room, managing to do so even with the speed she had rushed at it.  She flipped her hand behind her to push the door shut, and fell over her bed. Encircling her arms over one of her many pillows, she attempted to muffle her cries so that she wouldn't attract attention to the rest of the household.

The door to her room never closed, though, because Sayuri had caught up with her and held onto the door fast. Sayuri looked at her friend, with a pained expression. _Poor Sakura_, she thought, _what could have happened?_ She looked back, feeling the presence of the other two women that had run after the crying girl – her own mother and Miaka, both with worried faces. Miaka and Sayuri walked over to sit on the bed, while Houki closed the door ajar, and watched from afar.

Miaka, closer to her daughter's side, placed her hand on Sakura's shivering shoulder. "Sweetheart, what happened?"

Sakura bolted upright, looking at her mother with widened eyes. "M-Mom…Oh, Mom, it was horrible!" she sobbed, as she fell on her mother's shoulder.

Miaka hugged her daughter tightly and rubbed her back, trying to comfort her, to tell her that everything would be all right – whatever that 'everything' was. "What happened, dear?" she asked, as Sakura's heart-wrenching sobs calmed down somewhat.

"D-Daddy…a-and Uncle Hotohori…walked into Boushin's room…it was just a shower," she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut at the onslaught of fresh, new tears.

It dawned on all three women what had happened – Tamahome had walked in something private, at the wrong time, and he had blown a fuse, so to speak. Everyone had acknowledged that Tamahome was way too overprotective; and although he thought what he did was in the best interests for Sakura, he was actually hurting her. Every now and then, they would try to talk to Tamahome about his antics doing more damage than good – but that was like talking to an old, deaf mule because he was so stubborn, and always was!

Miaka sighed out loud, and rocked her daughter back and forth. "Oh, Sakura. What did you go and do?"

"B-Boushin just asked if I wanted to take a shower with him, since it was closer than walking all the way back to my room." She sat up, and looked at her mother pleadingly. "But, nothing happened, Mom. Honestly! We didn't even see each other. W-we…kind of, uh, took turns. Oh, you have to believe me, Mom!"

"Darling, of course I believe you. You never had the cause to lie to me before. Why would you now, hmm?" She rubbed her daughter's face with a clean part of her still dough-plastered apron. "Come now, tell me what happened afterwards."

"W-well…then Daddy and Uncle Hotohori walked in, and Daddy became angry and started yelling at us. We tried to explain, b-b-but he wouldn't listen! Oh, Mom, and then he sent me to my room, threatening that he'd separate me and Boushin…!" Sakura sobbed harshly, hiccupping into her mother's shoulder, as Miaka kissed her forehead, continuing the soothing rocking.

"Oh, darling, don't worry. I'm sure your father didn't mean it. Everything will be ok, you'll see. Just…how could you do something so daring, Sakura?" Miaka lifted her daughter up a bit, to look at her directly in the eyes. "Now cheer up, I don't want to see my little girl crying. Everything will be fine, I promise," she smiled reassuringly, cleaning the flour that had pasted itself on Sakura's forehead.

"Yeah, Sakura. Don't worry. Your dad will come through, eventually," Sayuri piped in. "Besides, if he doesn't, I'll let him have a taste of his own medicine." Sayuri pumped her arm, just to prove her point.

Her action caused laughter from the room's occupants. Sayuri was glad that her friend was smiling again. As long as her friend was happy, she didn't mind making a fool of herself – every once in a while, that is.

"Mm," replied Sakura, "but don't hurt him _too_ much. After all, he is my father, and I wouldn't want my mom to become a widow so soon."

That caused a slight glare from Miaka, but she ended up giggling. 

As the three women continued to cheer Sakura up, an ear-piercing yet unambiguous scream was heard from down the hallway. Most likely, the whole house had heard it. "KANO!!! You insufferable – " The rest of the words died out in a blur of confusion as loud laughter joined in. That was definitely another one of Kourin and Kano's war of bashing.

"I'll go check out what's going on between those two," Houki said, as she exited the room, gently laughing along the way.

The three left in the room were also laughing. Only the gods knew what they were up to this time…

"If they only knew how to get along," said Miaka.

Sayuri and Sakura looked at Miaka in a funny manner, and they burst out laughing, both at the same time saying, "Nah!!"

"Wouldn't be the same, Aunt Mi. Wouldn't be the same," continued Sayuri.

"Besides, how would we get rid of the house mice?" quipped in Sakura.

Sayuri would have died laughing if she didn't take deep breaths. She even ended up on the floor, rolling on her side, trying to calm down. When they were smaller, the house had a little infestation problem. Of course, even as kids, Kourin and Kano didn't get along very well with each other. One day, between Kourin's screams and Kano's pounding on the floor, it managed to make the mice run out of the house in fright. Meanwhile, Sakura and Sayuri were on the porch eating some PB&J sandwiches, and watched at least ten mice run in a line down the car path to the street.

"Well," laughed Miaka, "at least it saved Hotohori some money from giving it to the exterminator."

A soft yet firm knock sounded at the door. The three women looked up to see – Tamahome open the door. Silence filled the room; even Sakura held her breath, as worry filled her features at the sight of her father. _Has he come back to tell me that we're leaving? Oh, I hope not…_, Sakura thought.

Sayuri cleared her throat and got up from her seat on the bed, excusing herself and leaving the room, quickly adding over her shoulder that she'd come see her friend later. 

Miaka was about to do the same, but Tamahome stopped her. "No, stay, dear. I want you to hear what I have to say." He watched Sakura, as she gasped for air, apparently remembering to breathe. He noticed how Sakura's body was very tense, as she waited for him to speak. Tamahome closed the door behind him, to shut what he was about to say from prying ears. _So typical of Kano…he better not pull that stunt again if he knows what's good for him._

Miaka spoke up before her husband could, thinking he'd say something unreasonable. "Tamahome, before you say anything, I just want to remind you that I told you so before that your nosing around would eventually hurt Sakura. Look what you've done! Sakura is growing up, and she needs her space! She's not a baby anymore. She's totally innocent from whatever hap –"

"Whoa, whoa! Miaka, I'm not judging our daughter here. Heck, we're not even in a court room. I _know_ what I did was wrong…and I'm sorry." He looked at their disbelieving faces with amusement and frustration. "I said I'm sorry, and I really am. I had _no_ right to snoop around and check on what you were doing, Sakura. It's just…" He sighed deeply before he continued, watching Sakura's face smooth from bewildered to understanding, "It's just – you're my baby girl and I don't want to lose you."

"Oh, Daddy!" She jumped from her position and ran to hug her father. "You'll never lose me, I promise. I'll always be here…whenever you need me." She looked at his eyes, seeing them glisten, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you so much for understanding, Daddy."

Tamahome laughed a bit, and hugged his daughter, not too tightly, in mind of his strength. Miaka had walked over, and her husband wrapped one of his arms over her, to form a group hug. Eventually, they settled themselves on the bed, learning what had happened that the other had not, from that very morning.

"Daddy, what did you do to Boushin?" asked Sakura.

"Well, nothing much. Just told him to warn us when you two wanted to be intimate," he replied.

"Daddy! You didn't!" Sakura was flustered.

"Tamahome!" reprimanded his wife.

"What?! I don't mind the –"

"Kissing, Daddy?"

"Yeah, that." That was twice in one day that he had been finished on – _the word_. He didn't mind it so much…but seeing his daughter and his best friend's son… _She's grown up…soon, she'll be having little ones of her own_, reminisced Tamahome, with a slight grimace. _Hopefully not soon enough!_ "Anyways, if he as so much as hurts you, I won't answer for myself."

Sakura smiled. _Still as protective as always…he won't ever change._ "Don't worry, Daddy. Boushin would never do something to hurt me. Boushin's…kind and gentle, and…"

"Ack! Hang me now before I have to hear all this teenage mushy stuff," Tamahome laughed, and feigned sleep.

"Daddy!" She swatted her father with a pillow.

"What did Hotohori say?" inquired Miaka.

Tamahome leveraged his head on his hand, and plastered a bored look on his face. "Ah, nothing much. He was ok with everything…let me do all the talking, and stuff."

"'_And stuff_,' dear? What's that _stuff_ you're talking about?"

Tamahome made a strangled sound to drop the conversation, but Miaka didn't budge.

"No, tell me. I want to know, Tamahome."

"He…argh, he-made-me-see-my-wrongs. There, you happy?"

Miaka giggled with her daughter, as another knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," called out Sakura. 

Boushin opened the door, and looked a bit apprehensive when he saw that both Miaka and Tamahome were in the room. "Oh, uh, sorry," he stammered. "Did I interrupt something?"

Tamahome smiled knowingly. "No, it's all right, Boushin. We were just leaving." Offering his hand to his wife, they both got up and left the room. Before closing the door behind him, Tamahome smiled towards his daughter, and winked, causing her to blush and look surprised.

Boushin chuckled at the sight. It was one of those moments where you had to be there to see it. He walked up to his girlfriend's bed and sat next to her. "Your father changed," he commented, as he lifted a hand to her hair, shifting some stray locks away from her face.

"Yeah. Just a little bit though." She emphasized her point with her hand, a little space between her thumb and index fingers.

"So," he paused as Sakura leaned her cheek into his palm. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I heard that you ran to your room, crying…"

"Oh, that." She blushed, a bit embarrassed that he found out. "I'm ok, now. Dad sure seemed nice about the whole thing."

"Yeah, a little _too_ nice. I wonder if there's a catch to it." He looked around the room, as if something was hidden in the room, recording every second they were in the room.

"Boushin!" she exclaimed, smacking his arm slightly, both of them laughing. "I'm sure Daddy was being sincere."

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

Sakura looked a bit stunned, looking at him oddly. "What for?"

He took her hands into his. "For making you cry…" He brushed his thumbs over her fingers, idly. "For getting your father angry with you… For getting you in that position…" He looked up at her face, smiling to himself when he saw her face scrunch up crossly, ready to retort at him. "For loving you…"

She forgot what she was going to yell at him for. Tears that were glistening her eyes, softly tumbled down her cheeks. Happiness radiated from her, as Sakura hugged Boushin.

Boushin returned the hug, and then pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. He watched her for a few moments, lowering his head, his lips meeting hers. As they kissed, Boushin wrapped his left arm under Sakura's knees, while keeping his right hand in hers, lowering them both down unto the bed. Sakura was about to protest, as the hand that was behind her knee began to trail up her thigh, when a knock at the door interrupted the mood.

Sakura was so startled, that she shoved Boushin off her, causing him to fall off her bed with a loud thud. She was fixing herself when she realized what she'd done, hearing Boushin's moan of slight pain. She scurried over to her bed side, looking down at her boyfriend.

"Ow!" Boushin moaned, as he rubbed the back of his head.

Sakura gasped, "S-sorry, Boushin. I didn't mean that." 

"Yeah…I bet. Do you do that to all your boyfriends?" He smiled impishly.

Sakura frowned, and was going to answer back when the knock sounded again. "Yes, come in!"

Chuei opened the door slightly, and popped his head at the gap, confirming to himself that Boushin was inside. 

The two occupants looked at him, smiling with relief that it wasn't some parental to reprimand them, or worse – Kano. 

Chuei opened the door further, and looked at his sister with a smile. "Hey, kiddo, how you feeling?"

Sakura smiled brightly. "I'm ok. Daddy forgave Boushin, a~and," she sang, "he promised to be less conservative."

"That's good." He cleared his throat as he eyed his best friend who was still on the floor, looking a bit disheveled. Upset at sight, but letting it drop for now, he asked patiently, using all his might, "Umm, Boushin, do you mind if I talk to her alone?"

"No problem." He looked back at Sakura. "I'll see you downstairs." Rising a bit to give a quick peck on Sakura's lips, Boushin got up and left the room.

Chuei closed the door behind him, then walked over to his sister's bed. Without hesitating, "Sakura, before you yell, or hit me, or hate me forever, I want you to hear me out, ok?"

Sakura just nodded her head, a bit dumbstruck.

He sighed. "Ok, I just had the worst argument of my life. I shoved your best friend into the wall and humiliated her in front of everyone. It was an ac –"

"What?" Shock was there. 

_Not good_, was the thought that ran in Chuei's head, as he continued. " – cident! I swear, I didn't do it intentionally. I never wanted to hurt her. It just…happened! I can't explain it."

"How could you hurt her? What the heck did you do??" Her face scrunched up in impatience.

Chuei sighed. This was the part he was _not_ looking forward to. "I thought that Boushin had rushed you into bed, and we had an argument. It ended up with me getting head-butted and flipped. But, the injury that I did to her was more than what she did to me."

"What did you do!?" pressed Sakura.

"Well, I-I pressed her into the wall and…and…"

Sakura caught up with him; she wasn't as naïve as some thought she was. "You felt her up??"

"Well, not exactly."

"And then you told her you were seeing someone else."

"What was I supposed to tell her? There's Jade –"

"You should have thought of that before, Chuei! I don't give diddly-squat about Jade; you know I don't like her! How could you be so cruel? That's my best friend you just hurt!"

"And I'm your brother! _Please_, Sakura, give me a bit of sympathy here."

Sakura had gotten up from her seat on the bed a while ago, and was walking back and forth in the room. Chuei kept his eyes on her, explaining to her what had happened, while she ranted and threw her arms about. She laughed mockingly at her brother. "Chuei, the last thing you need is sympathy. What you did was wrong –"

"I _know_!" He jumped from the bed to stand. "I know what I did was wrong. I just thought that you and Boushin –"

"Well, you thought wrong! It's none of your business what me and Bou –"

"The hell it's my business because you're my little sister! Do you think I'd let my friends go on and bang my sister up just so they could get a good feel of you??"

"How dare you! You can be such a jerk!"

"I'm just trying to protect you, Sakura. You don't know what you're doing! You're still a kid!"

"No, I'm not! I'm eighteen years old, Chuei! I can make decisions for myself! Maybe you should look at yourself and see who's being the kid here."

Chuei growled at that. This was getting no where. "Look, I said I was sorry."

Sakura put her hand up to stop him. "No."

"No?"

"No. You're not supposed to tell _me_ you're sorry. You're supposed to tell _Sayuri_ you're sorry because you hurt _her_, not me. Damn it, Chuei, how could you?"

"I said it w–"

"Shut up. Don't say anything. Apologize yourself to Sayuri, and fix all the damage you did, or I will fix _you_."

Chuei stood flabbergasted. He watched his sister walk around him and open the door. "W-wait! Where are you going?"

Sakura glared at her brother with a cold stare. "Where does it look like I'm going? I'm going where I'm needed – to comfort my best friend. It seems that I'm the only one in this room who has any feelings left." She was about to close the door when she peeked her head into the room again. "Oh, and Chuei? Stay out of my personal life. At least Dad was sensible enough to see that I'm a big girl and can take care of myself." And she left.

Chuei rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling, glaring at it as if it had fault. "Damn it!" He grasped his hair, as he fell cross-legged on the carpet underneath him. "Great, now my own sister hates me. Things are definitely _not_ going my way today." He groaned at a thought. _Damn it, I forgot to ask her…Does Sayuri even like me?_ He sighed in frustration. _I need help...!_

_To be continued…_

*~*

A.N: Yay! I got to describe in this chapter and the one before what Chuei is really like! Just like his father…ne?

Ok, I got two reviews saying that they'd like Ryu and Rei together…so…^-^ :giggles: I'm making the next chapter a sort of 'pause' from what's currently happening, to focus on them. Just for a bit, though…I'll get back to them later, as well. As for Kourin and Kano…hmm…I'm still thinking. :-) So, next chapter, in sum, is between Ryu and Rei…a blooming, new romance? You betcha!

Next part of 'Trouble on Shore': Sakura goes to visit Sayuri, and Chuei tries to come to terms of who he loves…who's Jade? How come Sakura doesn't like her?? We might come to find out – is she a friend or a threat? ^-^ I sense a plot brewing…

Ideas are accepted! Thank you for R&R!!!

~Dralion Lily

Replies to Reviews:

Chibi Leelee Milo: Arigatou for reviewing again!!! ^-^ Definitely thinking about Kano and Kourin… I might need some major brewing over the rest of the Suzaku kids, though. That's a lot of couplings… ^^;;

Shy: Thanks!! Wow…you think my story's great. ::blushes:: Eto…arigatou! ^-^


	5. Chapter 5: 'Brownies and Milk' Wishes to...

**Precious Things**

_By: Dralion Lily_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. Mmm…all those yummy seishi. ::purr:: Lucky mikos… :-D

A.N: To those who replied to the previous chapter, please see the replies at the end of this one. Thank you so much for staying with 'Precious Things'! Also, you might wanna refresh your memory on the family tree. ^-^

**Rating: PG-13, language alert and…slight 'imps'**

*~*

Chapter 5: 'Brownies and Milk' Wishes to the One I Love…

*~*

Rei had heard the whole commotion from downstairs. But didn't bother to get up. She knew the drill; it was Kano and Kourin, hating each other's guts, biting, screaming, hitting, etc. Amongst all those things, though, she knew they liked each other – well, even if it _was _just a itsy bit. So, she kept where she was – sprawled on the black leather couch, with the remote control dangling in one hand, and a bowl of popcorn, leaning on the curve of her stomach. 

She was in the basement, more likely known as the 'Entertainment Room,' watching some past episodes of Marmalade Boy. For the past hour, she watched each episode with unfocused eyes. Bored out of her mind, she changed to normal TV, to see if there was anything interesting on. _Nope, nothing…_ She sighed deeply. Not wanting to go upstairs, and not the least curious of what was happening, she went back to Marmalade Boy. A few minutes later, she jumped up from the couch in frustration, tumbling the bowl of popcorn on the floor. Swearing under her breath, she went to retrieve a broom and bin to clean up her mess. When she had finished, a waft of freshly made brownies came to her nose. _Mmm…somebody's thinking the same thing_, she thought with a smile.

As she walked up the stairs, she bumped into Ryu, who was followed by Toshiro and Rinji. The collision was hard, causing her to lose her footing. Closing her eyes tightly, she waited for the fall – which never came. 

Ryu had caught Rei by the shoulders, holding her steady. "Whoa. Sorry, Rei. You all right?" he asked, concern and surprise showing in his face.

She looked up into his eyes, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. "I, uh…I-I-I'm f-fine," she stuttered.

Behind Ryu, Rinji and Toshiro were admiring them.

"My, my, my. What do we have here – a new pair of lovebirds!" announced a smiling Toshiro, reminding the other two that they were still there.

"Aww, Ryu. So you _do_ care." Rinji goo-goo eyed them, as he puckered up his lips, playfully.

The comments caused Ryu to blush, which didn't go unnoticed by Rei; he didn't bother to glance at her to see if she did. He let go of her shoulders, and walked down the rest of the stairs. "Feh. Come on," he called over his shoulders, "let's play some pool."

Rei, still blushing, excused herself and ran up the stairs, not daring to look at her crush's two friends along the way.

_He's not even denying it_, was the thought that passed through Rinji and Toshiro's minds, as they walked down the rest of the stairs. At least Toshiro had the courtesy to throw Rei a sympathetic smile along her way, even if she didn't notice it.

While Ryu grabbed the triangle from the corner of the room, Toshiro grabbed three cue sticks, and Rinji helped Ryu fix the colored balls into the triangle.

"Come on, Ryu. Stop kidding yourself," Rinji commented, as he threw the cue ball to Toshiro, who caught it with ease. "You like Rei. I mean, you always make an ass of yourself, trying to impress the ladies – uh, no offense, buddy," he quickly added when Ryu glowered at him.

"He's right, Ryu," continued Toshiro, saving Rinji from a severe pounding. "Here's a girl who you know, who's a friend, and who likes you. She's nice…she's pretty…you can always talk to her…" He passed two cue sticks to Rinji, who handed one to Ryu, all three taking their places.

"Yo, Toshiro. You're not thinking of hitting on Rei, are you?" teased Rinji, as he rubbed some chalk on the tip of his cue stick.

"I am not!" Toshiro scoffed, doing the same to his cue stick.

"Come on, Ryu! Fight back! Fight for what's rightfully yours, man!"

"Will both of you shut up?" Ryu finally intervened, annoyed at his friends. "It's my own business what I do with my personal life. When I want your advice, I'll ask." 

Toshiro positioned himself to hit the cue ball, as Rinji turned the eight-ball and lifted the triangle. "I honestly doubt you'd come to us. You're so freakin' shy," he glanced at his friend, striking the ball to commence the game.

Rinji chuckled. "Yeah. 'Sides, when Uncle Tasuki finds out you're dating his youngest daughter…whoo! It'll be hell on Earth! You'd better start praying that you don't make Rei cry, Ryu. We really don't want to go to your funeral so soon."

"That's not funny," Ryu said, as the others laughed. "I'd never dream of hurting Rei. She's like family."

"Whoa, whoa!" halted Rinji. "That's a no-no, bro. You do _not_ go calling the girl of your dreams, and treating her as if she were _family_. Chicks don't want that, dude. Sure, they want romance, cuddling, attention - in short, the works. But they definitely _do not_ want you telling them off, saying that you're just friends, or family. Geez, Ryu. You need more help than I thought."

"Shut up, Rinji. I never said anything about Rei being the girl of my dreams," Ryu responded, with a blush. "'Sides, The last thing I need from you is love lessons…" 

Toshiro laughed. "Yeah. They'd probably be more of a haphazard than a help."

"Ha ha," Rinji mocked. "Laugh it up, but someday, you'll be begging for some tips on how to please Rei…if you know what I mean," he said slyly, winking in Ryu's direction, seeing how his comment caused his friend to go red.

"All right, Rinji, I think that's enough," cut in Toshiro, seeing that Ryu was seething, as he squeezed his own cue stick with a sure grip. While Rinji took his fourth turn, Toshiro walked up to Ryu. "Do you like her?"

Ryu looked at his friend, incredulously. "How would I know?"

He shrugged. "You know when you know."

Ryu looked away. "You can't ask me that."

Toshiro arched an eyebrow, while Ryu moved for his turn. "And why not?"

He hesitated, more because of his uncertainty on how he felt than on answering the question. "B-because…I…I don't know how I feel for her. She's a friend."

"Yeah, but romances grow from friendships, you know."

Ryu snickered at Toshiro. "You've been watching _way_ too many chick flicks with the girls."

"Hey," he retorted, "so do you."

"_Come on_! Your turn, Ryu," whined Rinji, after missing his latest shot.

After a few more turns, and idle talk about different things, Rinji shifted the conversation back to Rei, since it was really interesting seeing his friend squirm.

"Just recalling…but Rei _sure_ looked pretty good looking at lunch, yesterday. Oh, and did I mention this morning? Smothered with that pancake batter? Mmm, yum. She looked good – good enough to _eat_." He stressed the 'eat,' watching Ryu's face turn from unnerved to fuming mad.

Toshiro was laughing so hard, that he thought he wouldn't be able to save Rinji this time. But all that Ryu did was toss his cue stick across the table, and walk back up the stairs.

"Hey, lover boy! Don't forget to write!" hollered Rinji, through his laughs.

"Ryu! You love her, she loves you! It's perfect – don't fight it!" assented Toshiro.

"Tell us everything afterwards, _dah-ling_!" Rinji wolf-called.

"Assholes," muttered Ryu, as he closed the door behind him, shutting the raucous laughter coming from below.

Smelling the delicious scent of chocolate in the air, he followed it to the kitchen, where Shoka, Reirei, Chie, Junko and Kouran were sitting around the island counter, sipping tea and chatting, with a plate stacked with freshly made brownies. He looked around curiously, wondering where the rest of the family was. Knowing that his parents were with Sakura, and Sayuri was still mad at Chuei, therefore in her room at the moment - where were the men?

"Uh. Sorry for interrupting your tea time ladies." He smiled when his aunts giggled at him. Yep, he got that reaction all the time, inheritance from his father. _Then why the hell do I keep making an idiot of myself, all the time??!_ he contemplated. "I was just wondering where the others went…"

"They're all outside at the pool, Ryu, dear," Reirei replied. 

_Great…the mother of the girl who has a crush on me _had_ to be the one to answer. I wonder if she notices how Rei reacts…Duh! Of course, you idiot! She's her mother! Grr…I can be so dull, sometimes. Oops, she noticed I just frowned… Cover it up!!!_ "Uh…Thanks, Aunt Reirei."

"Ryu, are you all right? You look a bit red. Are you catching a fever?" That was Aunt Shoka. There were times that her concern was a bit exaggerated…this was one of them. It was the summer! Hardly anyone ever got sick…

_Oh, wait. I'm blushing…damn it!_ "Oh, umm, no! Everything's fine! Ju~ust peachy. I think I'll go outside now. Need a bit of fresh air. Yeah. Umm, excuse me." He said it so fast, that the women almost quite didn't get what he had just said. He ducked his head and practically ran out of the kitchen.

Out of ear-shot, the mothers laughed.

"Oh, my. Wasn't that obvious?" asked Reirei.

"Of course it was, dear. He's quite fond of Rei, if you look carefully," giggled Kouran.

"You'd think he'd get the hint to make the first move. Ugh! Men!" complained Junko.

The women laughed again. Junko had quite the temper; they guessed it was probably the result to being married to Nuriko all these years. Heck, they all had some traits from their husbands.

"Hopefully, Tasuki won't go running after Ryu when he finds out. The poor boy is probably frightened enough as it is of the very idea," commented Chie.

"Oh, he knows," said Reirei.

"What?!" The women were quite taken aback that Tasuki knew, and he hadn't done any serious damage to the boy, yet.

 "Don't be surprised, ladies," she continued, as she stirred her tea out of habit. "He _knows_ Rei likes him. He's practically _seen_ the two give each other looks when the other isn't looking. And, might I add, as we just saw, it's quite obvious that Ryu returns those feelings. So, Tasuki knows."

"Then how come he hasn't done anything?" asked Shoka, on behalf of the others presently there.

"Because if he did, he'd have to hear it from Rei, which he has," she replied with a laugh. "Oh, you should have seen it. Rei practically made Tasuki beg on his knees to stop yelling at him. Besides, we're all protective parents, but, it's really up to the children to decide who they want to see. We have no say in it, in the end."

"True," mused Chie. "But, I'm still surprised he hasn't done anything."

"Oh, just you wait and see," said Junko. "When Tasuki catches them kissing – oh! No amount of Rei's screaming will be able to stop him strangling the boy."

"No," laughed Kouran. "But…there's always Tamahome!"

They all laughed. And so, they continued random chatter about family life, enjoying each other's company as soft summer breezes floated through the open windows.

*~*

Rei sipped at her tall glass of milk, watching the men prepare a barbecue while the others waited to jump into the pool. She laughed to herself, seeing Nuriko laugh at some joke of his own which caused Tasuki to wave his arms about in a fury. She picked one of the brownies on her plate, and took a bite, appreciating the taste and chewy texture of the dessert.

Behind her, Ryu walked out of the house, and stood stock-still at the sight of Rei. He had _no_ idea she was out here. _Oh man…what am I going to do? What do I say??_ His throat became completely dry, all of a sudden. _I can't go running back into the house – that'd be ridiculous! No, outta the question. I'll go up to her, smile, and then say…say…_ "Hey," he squeaked, and quickly composing himself, repeated his greeting, "Hey, Rei."

Rei jumped, startled from her peaceful trance, and looked up at Ryu, with a cute blush staining her cheeks. _Was he looking for me? Ah! Maybe what Rinji and Toshiro was true; that… Oh, who am I kidding…he probably came here to ask me for an apology for bumping into him and embarrassing him in front of his friends_, she thought.

Since she didn't greet him back, nor said a word whatsoever, Ryu thought that he had done something wrong. So, he sat next to her on the steps of the porch, all the while never breaking eye contact with her. He was going to ask what was wrong when –

"I'm sorry about back there," Rei said in a rush. "I-I…I mean, I wasn't looking where I was going. And then Rinji and Toshiro, well…"

He looked at her as if he had been hit by a fish – well, almost. So that's what was on her mind??  He laughed out loud, unable to suppress the irony of the whole situation. "I-Is that what you're thinking I'm here for? Rinji and Toshiro are always like that, it should be no surprise to you. Gods, Rei, you're really something!" His comment made her blush spread from her cheeks, downwards. His laughter stopped, as his eyes trailed from her eyes, to her cheeks, to her lips, to her cleavage…shamelessly. _If she only knew…_ Rei's soft gasp caused him to look back up at her eyes, and blush as well. "Ah! Sorry! I-I…didn't mean to," he stammered, as he looked away, automatically placing a hand behind his head.

Rei lowered her eyes, curling her arms around her chest protectively. It wasn't that her shirt was _that_ short; it was just a regular, baby blue halter top – ok, a very _low-cleavage_, baby blue halter top. _Damn it, Rei_, she thought, _What a moment to get shy! You want__ him to look at you. Get over yourself! Slowly, yet unsure, she lowered her arms, but the blush was still there. "T-That's ok. I'm sure it was an accident." __Pff. You kidding? He stared! It was like he was getting a free peep show. Angry at where her thoughts were leading to, she shook her head, sighing in frustration. Looking quickly back at Ryu, there was a worried look on his face, as if he was thinking she was mad at him. "Oh, sorry. I was thinking of something else. My head's in the clouds. Don't mind me," she quickly apologized, with a smile. __Great. Now make him think you're an air head._

"Oh," was all that Ryu could reply. _Guess I'm not the only one with my head in the clouds..._

They sat there together, just watching, trying hard not to glance at one another from the corner of their eyes, and failing miserably. It happened, once, that their eyes crossed each other, which made them both blush really hard and look opposite directions, and Ryu to cough as if he was choking.

The awkward silence was beginning to become unbearable to both, but neither one made a move. Ryu knew he had to make _some type of conversation with her – and he really didn't know why. He looked down to her hands, seeing them fidgeting with the rims of a plate, three brownies left uneaten. Looking back up to her face, her eyes still looking away, he tried not to grab her hand to attract her attention. "Did you bake them?" he asked._

Rei gawked at him, surprised. _Baked what…? She looked at her hands.__ Oh! "Oh! You mean the brownies?" __Of course, you dummy! Ignoring her inner reply, "Umm, no. Our aunts did. Do you, uh, want one?" She offered the cake, lifting the plate up to him._

"You don't mind?"

Rei giggled at him. "Of course not, silly. Or else I wouldn't have offered, don't you think?"

Ryu pouted cutely, which made Rei laugh. "Well, I don't know. You could have been playing a prank on me." He grabbed a brownie with his left hand, while supporting himself with his right behind him.

"Me? I'm not like your silly friends, Rinji and Toshiro."

"_Silly? That's a **big** understatement, Rei-chan."_

She gasped softly. He had never used an endearment, before. Especially to her. Did she hear correctly? "Wha…What did you call me?"

Ryu blinked at her. Had he said – oh. Had he offended her? "I…I called you 'Rei-chan.' Why? Did I offend you? If you don't want me to –"

"No. _No!" she almost yelled, her left hand clasping his hand behind them. Her sudden outburst and action surprised not only Ryu, but herself, as well. And yet, she didn't budge her hand from its current location. "I mean…I like it. You can keep calling me that. That is…if you don't mind," she said coyly, blushing as she stared into his eyes._

He smiled at her sincerely. "Of course not. I kinda like calling you Rei-chan. It suits you." He squeezed her hand in his, looking back at her, unabashed.

She smiled at him back. She was really happy that he was being so forward with her. Yes, the term was a bit childish, but it was an endearment none the less.

They sat on the porch for a while longer, in companionable silence, this time. It seemed that everyone was already out of the household, and getting ready to tease the day at the pool. Since Rei wasn't really hungry, she offered another still-warm brownie to Ryu, who took it gladly, and ate it slowly. They had shifted closer in the meantime, and Rei's head was beginning to feel heavy, so she laid it on Ryu's shoulder, letting out a soft sigh.

Ryu, who was in the middle of swallowing a mouthful, was surprised and a bit shocked from Rei's movement [the second time that day], choked.

Rei, thinking that he had chocked by accident, innocently reached for her glass of milk and handed it to Ryu, who gratefully gulped the cool liquid. She patted and rubbed his back as he drank, concern etching her face. Then, she stopped in mid-stroke, realizing – _that was an indirect kiss, she thought._

Ryu had finished all of the milk, and opened his eyes, setting the glass aside. "What's the matter?" he asked, watching Rei's facial features, her concern turning to shyness. They had been so open with each other…so close…it felt nice.

But then, Rei began to laugh, really hard, which confused Ryu. "Y-you…" She motioned her fingers to her upper lip, when she burst into giggles again.

"Huh?" Ryu, now even more confused, looked at her with a bizarre look.

Rei, deciding on another bold move and having calm down from her giggle-attack, leaned forward, her lips _almost coming into contact with Ryu's. By now, Ryu had leaned back, trying to distance himself and Rei; but, she had just kept leaning forward._

Ryu's every muscle was tense, and all he could do was stare at Rei, waiting for whatever she was going to do. Rei looked up to him, her eyes seeming to ask him permission. There was a tremendous blush on her cheeks. Heck, he could feel his own cheeks burning! _Is she going to ki –_

His thoughts were interrupted, when Rei slanted her head slightly. Her tongue peeked out of her lips, licking the remnants of milk above his upper lip.

If Ryu was tense before, he was basically a sitting rock now. His eyes had widened considerably during and after Rei's oh-so-bold move. He continued to stare at her in astonishment as she pulled away slightly.

Rei waited for Ryu to say something – anything. Although embarrassed of what she had done, she didn't look away; she knew what she felt, what she wanted…she knew what she had done felt unbelievably right. If he didn't do the first move, then she had to - …right? _Doesn't he love me? But, moments passed, and Rei was beginning to feel discouraged. So, she looked away, muttering a soft apology, and picking up her plate and the now empty glass, prepared to get up._

Something inside of him snapped – telling him if he didn't do something, he'd regret it forever… would lose her forever. "Wait!" Ryu grabbed one of Rei's wrists and pulled her to him, crushing his lips to hers.

Rei was now the astonished one. The kiss was abrupt, but it softened to something more passionate in moments. She wrapped her arms around Ryu's neck, the glass and plate still in her hands. It was an innocent kiss, but it was enough to leave them breathless. They pulled away, pecking a few more times before opening their eyes.

"W-what was that for?" asked Rei, still breathing heavily.

"It felt right, didn't it?" His eyes were glazed and half-opened, and he wrapped his arms around Rei's waist, pulling her to his lap.

All Rei could do was nod; she was still a bit disoriented. But she was very happy, and it shone in her eyes.

Ryu kissed her forehead in kind, reveling the feel of her body next to his. It felt extremely right…and the mood was, in one simple word, perfect. And yet…he couldn't find it in himself to tell Rei that he loved her, because he hadn't acknowledged it to himself, either. Could Rinji and Toshiro have been right all along? That Rei was truly the 'girl of his dreams'? He'd have to give it more thought… Remembering the sole brownie still on the plate, he placed a finger under Rei's chin, lifting her head to look at her. "You know, there's still that lonely brownie over there," he glanced sideways, to motion to the plate that was behind his head still, "that's waiting to be eaten."

Rei watched the mischievous gleam swirl in Ryu's eyes, and added a mischievous smirk to her own mouth. "Well, then, we should to something about it, shouldn't we?"

"Mm. Bring it on, Rei-chan."

*~*

Hiding behind one of the windows that was over-looking the porch, were Rinji and Toshiro, filming the whole incident since the beginning. They had quickly and silently ran up the stairs after Ryu had left, with Rinji transporting a camcorder in hand. As they watched, Rinji couldn't help himself but make evil jokes, installing them along with what went on between Rei and Ryu. Since the window was all ready ajar, it saved them from making any noise that would distract the new couple's mood, and gave them the opportunity to film whatever they were saying.

Toshiro laughed as silently as he could, about the whole scene and Rinji's not-so-innocent comments. "Rinji, he's going to have our heads when he sees this."

Rinji took his eye away from the camera to look at Toshiro, wickedly. "Who said I was going to show this only to Ryu?"

Toshiro turned a bit pale. "R-Rinji. Y-you're not thinking of showing this to the whole family! Are you?"

Rinji cackled, evilly. "Ha ha! One-hundred percent, potent blackmail, brother!"

Toshiro groaned, fearing the worst of what would happen to him, once he was discovered in accompanying this little scheme. "Oh. I am so dead."

Rinji continued to cackle, as he kept on filming Ryu and Rei, doing some very interesting stuff with the leftover brownie.

_To be continued…_

*~*

A.N: Haha! I had soo much fun writing this chapter! ^-^ Evil Rinji! To think that Chichiri's youngest son could be such a devil! Guess that's what happens when you let him hang out with the other Suzaku kids…

Ok, getting to the important stuff. Like I said in the previous chapter, the next one is the third part of 'Trouble on Shore,' explaining what Sayuri is currently feeling about Chuei, and who is the not-yet-introduced character, known as Jade. Just to get it cleared, the next chapter is going 'back' again, from when Sayuri walked to her room [almost in tears]. Aww…poor Sayuri. I feel bad doing this to her. Well…it might not be just her. Oops! I almost gave away some plot. -

I hope you liked this chapter! It's going to be a while until I post the next one. Gomen!! But, I have some stuff to catch up to… Don't worry, I won't let you wait too long!

Arigatou for R&R!!

~Dralion Lily

Replies to Reviews:

marzoog, Shy, Sakura_miaka: Thank you so much for reviewing!

marzoog: I can't believe you took the time to respond twice. ^-^ Yeah, I was thinking of getting Chuei and Sayuri together. Problem is: Jade. I'll explain her in the next chapter. Yep, I was going for lots of chapters. But, in the end, it's what I have in mind that matters. Ne?

Sakura_miaka: Don't worry, I was planning on adding some old FY flashbacks!


	6. Chapter 6: Trouble on Shore Part III

**Precious Things**

By: Dralion Lily

**Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Fushigi Yuugi. But I do claim ownership of the Suzaku kids; all except Boushin, of course.**

A.N: Thank you's go out to all those who replied the previous chapter! It's you who keep me going!! ^-^

A.N2: Reminder, this goes back to Chapter 3, where it ended off.

A.N3: SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY!!

A.N4: Spoilers for last episodes of Fushigi Yuugi, and OVA 2. You have been warned!

**Rating: R, due to Sayuri's bad mouth/thoughts!**

*~*

Chapter 6: Trouble on Shore Part III

*~*

Sayuri grabbed her CD player and a magazine from her bed, and landed on the floor with a thud. Luckily, there was a fluffy rug to soften her fall – somewhat. Putting on her headphones, and blasting the volume to the max, she flipped through the magazine's pages absent-mindedly, exerting her frustration at each turn of the page. She couldn't concentrate on either the words in front of her, or the lyrics to the music; her mind kept shifting back to what Chuei had said… 

_'For your information, Sayuri, I have a girlfriend and I care for her very much! I wouldn't cheat on her with some other woman I'd happen to meet.'_

Sayuri shook with rage, and hurt. The tears that threatened to fall when he had said that were coming back at full force. Her vision became blurry, as she watched each tear splatter on the pages of the magazine. _How dare that bastard insult my pride! She laughed angrily, after a few sniffles. __He's not worth it. He deserved every single thing I said. Everything…  Suddenly, she felt so exhausted, and the tears kept coming. She didn't bother wiping them away; it had been a good year since she had a good cry. She bent her knees, and placed her head in between them. It felt good crying…all her frustration and hurt slowly leaving…_

A knock sounded at the door, which startled Sayuri from her calming reverie. She quickly dried her tears with a sleeve, turned off her CD player and hid it underneath the bed, and threw the magazine across the room, to disguise any hints that she had cried. She cleared her throat, before answering to the second knock. "Come in."

Her mother opened the door. What caught Houki's eye, first, was the state of mess the room was in.

Sayuri saw the frown on her mother's face. She knew her mother would first do that gasping 'Oh, Sayuri' thing, then give her a long speech of how an educated young lady couldn't represent herself as such and such. Thinking that that particular scene was soon coming up caused a smirk to Sayuri's face. _Good, at least she won't notice that I've been crying…or maybe not, she thought, with a wry smile._

Houki was indeed going to rant about Sayuri's upbringings, until she laid eyes on her daughter. Sayuri's eyes were red and puffy, which immediately gave away to the fact that Sayuri had been crying. "Oh, Sayuri, darling. Are you all right?"

Sayuri face-faulted from her mother's sudden concern. "Aw, Mom, I'm fine. There's nothing you need worry about."

"Darling," Houki said, while closing the door behind her, and walking towards her daughter, "if you're crying, there is a cause for me to worry."

"Mom, I _was crying."_

"Exactly. Tell me what's wrong," Houki beckoned, sitting beside her daughter, on the floor.

"I told you. It's nothing that you need to worry about," Sayuri replied, looking down at her feet.

"Sayuri, if you won't tell me what's bothering you, then how am I supposed to help you, and give you my motherly advice, hm?" Houki reached a hand to Sayuri's chin, lifting her daughter's head to look at her, and smiled.

Sayuri smiled back. _She could be so persistent… I guess I did get some traits from my parents, after all. She shook her head and looked back down at her feet._

Houki sighed. "It was Chuei, wasn't it? What happened back there…"

Sayuri made a positive sound, affirming her mother's suspicions. She really did not feel like talking about it…

The room was silent for a while. Neither one spoke a word. 

Sayuri was beginning to wonder if her mother would ask about what had happened, or if she was waiting for Sayuri to explain, on her own. She sighed with resignation, before giving in to the inevitable. "Chuei assumed that Dad and Uncle Tama had found Boushin and Sakura in bed together. Of course, I said no, and I couldn't believe that he had said that about his own sister. He then said something really stupid, that Boushin was like every other guy, and would have taken the opportunity. And so I slapped him."

"Sayuri! You didn't!" her mother scolded.

"Why not?! The bastard deserved it!" Sayuri retorted.

"Sayuri, your language!"

Sayuri huffed at her mother. "Do you want to know what happened, or not? Anyways, he started saying some selfish things…" Sayuri had decided to keep the major details from her mother, in consideration to her 'health.' If either her mother, or her father, for that fact, should find out what had really happened just a few minutes ago, Chuei would meet his maker sooner than he thought. "And then, that's where you came in. He told me he loved someone else, and I left."

Houki seemed to be contemplating something. She nodded her head a few times, but her face looked as passive as ever.

Sayuri looked at her mother, curiously. "What are you thinking, Mom?"

Houki looked at her daughter for a second, before asking, "Sayuri, do you like Chuei?"

"WHAT?!" screamed Sayuri, jumping to a stand. "What kind of question is that to ask, Mom? What gave you the idea to even ask that?"

Houki was a bit startled from her daughter's reaction, but smirked at the scene her daughter was making. Sayuri was walking back and forth, in front of her mother, and her face was blushing red, upset and embarrassed from her mother's assumption. "Well, darling, considering the way you are making a hole on the floor, people would say otherwise to what you are trying to deny."

Sayuri turned sharply to her mother. "Mom, I _do not…" She stopped at her mother's raised eyebrow, and sighed loudly. "What difference does it make if I do? You heard so yourself that he loves someone else! I'd have no chance!"_

"So, you _do like him, darling?"_

Sayuri gaped at her mother. Had she _said that? "W-wha…I…ah…ugh!" __What luck, Sayuri thought, __I ended up squealing to my Mom what I felt about that…jackass! Ugh, how humiliating. Not even bothering to answer her mother's oh-so-keen perception, Sayuri walked towards her bed, which was supporting her mother's back, and flopped, none-too-gently._

Houki got up from the floor, and sat on the bed. "Sayuri," she called to her daughter, compelling her to look up, "have you ever considered that maybe Chuei said those things because you were being just as cold to him? Or maybe," she continued, at the skeptical look on Sayuri's face, "he doesn't know what a beautiful, charming, smart and funny girl he just let pass by."

"_Mom…" Sayuri warned, not wanting to be overrun by mush, and not willing to cry again._

"Don't let your heart break from one slight mishap, darling; not again. You know I don't want to see you cry." Houki reached out to dry a tear that had escaped from Sayuri's eye, and shifted a lock of hair away from Sayuri's face. "And I am positive that out there, there is someone special, waiting for you, and would rather die than ever hurt you."

Sayuri groaned, before stuffing her face into her pillow. "Oh, Mom, _not another fairy-tale story!"_

Houki giggled. "I am being serious, Sayuri. But, men also have the tendency to make mistakes now and then. Take your father, for instance. He makes mistakes all the time!"

Suddenly, Sayuri became interested. "Really? Tell me. Did Dad ever do anything to make you cry?"

"Well, once. A long time ago." She paused, trying to recollect memories from the past, long since forgotten. "I was pregnant with your brother."

"Whoa. So does that mean that Boushin lived in the past, as well? Does he remember anything?"

"Yes and no. Boushin does not recall anything from the past, because nothing memorable happened. Anyhow, your father had to go to war to protect his empire, and he was killed."

Sayuri gasped. "Really?! Holy – So what happened then?! What happened to the empire?! How'd he hurt you?"

Houki laughed at the sudden bombard of questions. "The war ended, thanks to your uncles, your Aunt Miaka and her best friend, Yui. The empire was handed to the hands of the emperor's advisors, until your brother was of age to handle the affairs. And your father hurt me by never coming back. He died, when he promised me he'd return to me, and see Boushin grow up."

"Mom…" Sayuri sat up, and shifted closer to her mother, thinking of how she would show her mother her sincere apologies.

"Oh, darling. It's all right. It's all in the past. I love your father very much now, as I did then. And no matter how much it hurt to know that he had died, I knew deep within my heart that he was always there, watching me."

Sayuri smiled. It was a bit nauseating to see all the mushy scenes her parents made in the house, but she always welcomed stories about the past. They fascinated her, a lot – even to Sakura. _Speaking of the twit, where the hell is she?! She better be done crying, that big… She cleared her throat before irritation took over her. "So tell me more about Boushin in the past."_

"Well, your brother grew up as an emperor, with me to guide him along. He was so alike your father… I even thought, a few times, that Boushin was your father, and I called him 'Hotohori' by mistake, many a times. But also, Boushin acted so much like Hotohori, that…it almost seemed as if your father had been reincarnated! So, perhaps, because the memories were mixed between two people, they weren't reproduced for Boushin now, in the future."

"So, you mean, the memories just…disappeared?"

"Exactly."

"I guess that makes a bit of sense. I mean, Dad must have had a more important life…" Sayuri was still a bit dubious of the situation, though. "What happened that wasn't so memorable in Boushin's past life?"

"From what I recall, before dying…" Houki smiled at the frown on her daughter's face. "Your brother was in his middle thirties, and not yet wed. He just…seemed to be filling in the space of your father, looking over the kingdom, and making sure that I was content."

"He never married?! Hmm, I guess that makes sense…" Sayuri mumbled her last words.

"What was that, darling?" Houki asked, with a small grin.

"Well, it makes sense, Mom. See, if Boushin doesn't remember any past memories because they weren't important, then he can make new ones, happier ones. Ones with Sakura in it." Sayuri laughed wickedly.

Houki laughed. "Sayuri, whatever is in that brain of yours, you better get rid of it quick. Poor Sakura will be traumatized by your schemes of the gods-know-what."

"Why, mother, I never thought you to think so highly of me," Sayuri said, along with a prude smirk.

Both mother and daughter laughed, as another knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" Sayuri called, from her position on the bed.

The door opened, and Sakura walked in, with a smile.

"Oh, so Ms. Lil Cry-Baby is smiling again? The sun must be shinin' outside," Sayuri commented, with a smirk.

Sakura pouted cutely, a small blush tinting her cheeks; her hands were hidden behind her back, resting on the doorknob. The sun-comment always got to her, because Boushin had been the first one to use it. And when the others in the house over-heard him saying it, one time, and saw her flustered reaction, that was one mistake she learned to regret. She couldn't help but take things, especially teasing, so seriously, and get flustered over nothing… "I just came here to see how you were," she said, as she walked to the middle of the room.

Sayuri smiled widely. It was amazing how her best friend knew where she needed to be. _She really is the best. Boushin's so lucky…_

Houki decided to make her leave, then. "I'll leave you two girls to talk then. I'll see you later, darling," Houki kissed Sayuri on the forehead, and got up. She walked up to Sakura, and repeated the gesture. "If you girls need to talk to someone older, you know where to find me, ok? Bye, loves. And don't take too long to meet us downstairs, ok?" Walking out the door, she closed it behind her.

"Bye! We won't!" The two girls called simultaneously.

"C'mere! Sit down, girl! Tell me what happened when I left. I want to know all," Sayuri pleads, as she made room for her friend to sit down on the bed.

"Well," Sakura began, landing on the mattress roughly. "Daddy told me that he forgave Boushin."

"Really?! That's excellent, girl! Why are you looking so glum?"

"Then, Chuei came to see me."

"Oh." Sayuri looked at her best friend crossly. "So, he ended up going, after all."

"What happened?" asked Sakura.

"He was just bad-mouthing you and Boushin, and then he started harassing me."

"What?!"

"It's no big deal, Sa-"

"Of course it's a big deal, Sayuri!" interrupted Sakura. "He felt you up, gave you ideas, and then he threw you to the side!"

Sayuri shrugged. "Well, what can I say? I'm used to it, already. 'Sides," she said, with a sly smirk. "I got my revenge. I flipped him over, and almost choked him to death."

Sakura laughed hard. "You _what?! Ha ha! Y-you're incredible, Sayuri. I can't believe you kicked my brother's butt!"_

"_Would have," corrected Sayuri. "I would have kicked his ass, if it weren't for Uncle Nuri and the rest holding me back. At least Chuei learned his lesson than to mess with me."_

"Hmm? Then, you don't know the worst of it."

"What? What is it?"

"Chuei is going out with Jade," Sakura stated, with angered bluntness.

"WHAT?! How do you know?! Wh-Who told you?" Sayuri asked in a rush, almost begging.

"I've kinda known for a while…" Sakura dropped to almost a whisper. She was unsure if she should go on. Her friend would probably end up upset at her for not telling all this information before.

"_Kinda known?" Sayuri urged on._

"He made secret phone calls in his room at night, and locked himself in. One day, I went to his room to get the laundry, when I saw his phone book on the bed; and it was book-marked. He had Jade's number."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" shrieked Sayuri.

"Because I wasn't sure! He just reaffirmed it, when he came to see me a while ago!" Sakura shrieked back.

"Damn it! This is bad, Sakura. She can hurt him, just like she did to Boushin."

"I know! That's what I'm afraid of. Oh, Sayuri, we have to do something! I never wanted to see her again, after what she did, but I guess you never get what you want," Sakura joked lightly, earning a humorous glance from Sayuri. "And now, her dating my older brother - it's just too…nauseating!"

"Sakura…do you think Jade slept with Chuei, all ready?"

Sakura groaned. "Oh, gods, I hope not! That'd be _way too embarrassing. Sayuri, you know yourself, she hates me! What did I ever do to her?"_

"Ever since we were kids, and she was in Boushin's year, she was really jealous of us because we always had attention, people always came to us to talk. So she tried her own comeback, by becoming friends with Chuei and Boushin. But it didn't change anything. We were always 'one-step ahead' of her."

"Sayuri, how do you know this?"

Sayuri smirked. "Hey, I don't have my Mom's keen observation for nothing. Anyways, when she realized that Boushin was protecting you, that blew a fuse in her; everyone was always protecting you. Not so much me, because I knew how to kick people's asses around. But –"

"That's when Jade started going out with Boushin," Sakura said, gloomily, recalling past events.

"Exactly," Sayuri replied, with a grimace. "And then, she broke his heart, just as quickly, by breaking up with him, just after a few weeks they began dating. He told her that he loved her, and she bagged him."

"How could she play with his emotions? That, that witch!"

"Hey, look on the bright side, Sakura! You have Boushin now. If it weren't for Jade's heartlessness, you would have never gotten the chance to be with him. Look at how happy the two of you are, together! It's like the heavens shone on you, and gave you two their blessings!" Her comment caused Sakura to blush. "I'm serious! And I bet no one has ever seen the cutest couple, like you two. You guys were made for each other! And so what? Boushin learned his lesson. He found out that he never truly loved Jade; he wanted you."

"But he was so depressed, Sayuri, remember? I don't want my brother to go through the same. She'll break his heart! And remember when Boushin became depressed, again, two years ago?"

Sayuri coughed. She couldn't help it; it just came out. But she managed to keep her face neutral, by covering it with her hands for a few seconds. She looked back at her friend, who had a questioning frown plastered on her face. "Oh," Sayuri chuckled nervously, "I got some dust in my throat. You were saying…?"

Sakura was a bit doubtful, but let the matter drop, keeping the frown in place. "I was asking if you remembered when Boushin became depressed two years ago? Do you know what happened?"

"I…_Me?" she squeaked by accident, and then quickly cleared her throat, to disguise her error. __Geez, so much for my infallible lies. "I _mean_, ahem, no. It was probably because he got a bad score on an exam, or something."_

"Really? Because, whenever I tried to go up and talk to him, he'd turn and walk away. Are you sure he wasn't mad at me?" Sakura asked sadly.

"N-no! Of course not!" Sayuri reassured quickly, putting Sakura at ease that she hadn't fault of anything that had happened. "Don't worry about it, Sakura. It was such a long time ago! Why'd you remember it all of a sudden?"

"Because we were talking about the subject."

"Oh, right. I forgot… Did you ask Boushin, by any chance?"

"He told me it was about an exam grade, too. And he told me to forget about it, quickly dismissing it. I didn't ask him again, because he seemed really upset when I did."

"See? Just forget about it, ok, Sakura? It's in the past. Don't let it affect the future."

"I won't. I promise. But, it's just that… since Jade is dating Chuei, do you think she's using him to get to me?"

Sayuri frowned, but quickly dissolved it, to not worry her friend. "Don't worry about it, Sakura," she said, with a smile. "We'll worry, when the time calls for it, ok? We should get dressed quickly to go to the pool. Everybody's probably waiting for us, by now."

Sakura jumped to a stand, in shock. "Oh! You're right! Damn it, how could I have forgotten?"

Sayuri feigned a gasp. "Sakura! By the gods, you have cursed! The sky must be falling," she joked, looking above her head.

"Feh. I get it from you, you plague."

Sayuri laughed. "Yeah. And that 'feh,' you're getting from either your dad or Ryu."

Sakura giggled. "Ok. I'll meet you at the stairs. Get dressed!" Sakura got up and quickly ran out of the room, throwing a wink to Sayuri over her shoulder.

When her friend had left, Sayuri frowned deeply, ignoring the open door to her room. _This isn't good. Jade's really going too far, this time. What the hell does that bitch have in mind?! Sayuri kept thinking, as got up to go to her drawer, and pulled out two-piece, red and lavender bikini. __She used Boushin to destroy Sakura, and she almost got what she wanted… She's definitely using Chuei to have another go at Sakura. I can't believe that fuckin' hoe warped Chuei's mind, too! I can forgive him for hurting me… It's her__ I'll never forgive. Boushin's got to know. She walked to her bathroom, bikini and a robe, that was on a nearby chair, at hand. __The truth will come out sooner than we thought. And it might end up hurting Sakura even more, if Boushin doesn't tell her soon… I won't be able to hide his secret forever.  With that last thought, she closed the door._

*~*

The two best friends met at the top of the stairs of their floor, both dressed in their extremely stylish bikinis, which they glimpsed to each other, and quickly covered with their robes. They walked down the three flights to the main floor, chatting happily, teasing of what they would do to the others at the pool, soon. When they reached the top of the last flight of stairs, they saw Boushin talking to Kano and Keitaro; it seemed the rest of the family was already outside, by the pool. The boys noticed their presence, and looked up, smiling at the girls. Kano and Keitaro excused themselves; and before Kano attempted to make a sly crack, Keitaro had grabbed Kano with an arm around his neck, and gave him a nookie, causing the other to howl as they exited out of the house.

Sakura ran down the stairs, and jumped to the awaiting arms of Boushin, who twirled her in the air. Sakura laughed happily, and when she was placed back on the floor, began a modeling show for her boyfriend, asking him if the bikini looked ok. "So, what do you think? Does it make me look _elegant?" she asked, placing a dramatic air to the word 'elegant.'_

"Mmm," Boushin responded, admiring the skin that was shown as his girlfriend opened her robe, the curves that were oh-so-obvious, the way the pink and yellow bikini clung to her body… "You look ravishing, sweetheart," he added, before his thoughts led to the point of no return. "I think," he said, as he enclosed Sakura in his arms, and pressed her tightly against him, earning him a squeal, "if you were to really model in that, the photographers would all faint."

Sakura giggled, and blushed at the comment, as she leaned up to kiss Boushin.

In front, Sayuri cleared her throat. "Yeah, they'd probably faint 'cause you would have punched their lights out for seeing Sakura so… barely clothed." She gave her a friend a wink, noticing the ever-growing blush.

Boushin chuckled. "Yeah. That too." He reached down for another kiss.

Sakura quickly returned, just to quickly draw back. "Do you like it, though?"

Before he could answer, Sayuri, once again, interrupted. "Oh! Dah-ling! You look fab!" she exclaimed, impersonating a drag queen.

Boushin looked at his sister, his face a mix between annoyance and humor. "You look great. Can't wait to see you swim in it," he whispered to Sakura, with a wink.

Sakura's brilliant smile looked as if it extended to her ears. She was extremely happy, and it showed. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go outside!"

"Ready when you are, babe," Boushin replied to his girlfriend's over-genki-ness, as he smacked her bottom, lightly.

She looked at him, embarrassed, yet unable to resist smiling. "Oh, you!" And began walking towards the door, leading outside.

Boushin was about to follow her, when Sayuri stopped him. "Umm, Boushin?"

"Hmm?" He turned around towards his sister.

"Can I have a word with you? Just a sec?"

He turned back to Sakura, who had stopped at the doorway. "I'll be there in a minute, Sakura. Go on ahead, and help Kouki-kun." The couple had promised the youngest kid of the extended family of the Suzaku Seishi, that they'd teach him how to swim. The kid wouldn't mind if Boushin was little late, and definitely wouldn't mind if Sakura taught him by herself; she would pay more attention to Kouki, if he wasn't around. The gods knew how much Kouki loved Sakura – she was probably his favorite cousin. _Hopefully, he won't grow up _too_ attached to my Sakura_, Boushin thought, with an ironic smile, at how he could be so jealous of a small kid.

Nodding in agreement, she left, not even bothering to ponder why Sayuri had to talk to Boushin.

Turning back to his sister, he asked, "What is it, sis?" 

She walked closer to him. "We talked about Jade, again."

"_What?" he asked, panic eminent in his voice. "Why? Does she know –"_

"No, you don't have to worry. I didn't tell her. She doesn't know a thing; she's still stuck to the old story."

Boushin sighed with relief.

"Boushin? How long do you think of keeping your affair a secret?"

He glared at his sister. "It wasn't an affair, Sayuri!"

Sayuri's anger was roused. "Oh really? Then you mind explaining to me how two years ago, you started to realize that you liked Sakura more than as a  little sister, and surprisingly enough, you go off to fuck the bitch at the same time?!"

Boushin's anger was just as quick to appear. "Damn it, Sayuri. You'd better watch your tongue."

"The fuck I'll watch my tongue, till you do some explaining!"

"I have no idea how the hell you found out, but –"

"But what?! I arrived at the scene, before Sakura did, lucky for you! You ought to thank me, you ungrateful bastard! And now, don't expect you can hide this from Sakura forever! And I'm _not_ keeping this secret anymore! She loves you to death, and I know you do too! Therefore, complete –"

"Trust. I know," Boushin finished, with a frustrated sigh.

"Well, it doesn't seem like it. You keep repeating the very words to her, but it doesn't seem that you're doing anything to keep true to them."

"Sayuri, it was –"

"An accident, bro? What? Don't tell me she slipped and landed on your –"

"Sayuri, will you stop being such a bitch to me?!"

"I just can't believe you were dating Sakura, _and you were sleeping with Jade!"_

"I…I can't give you an excuse. I was so confused! Sayuri, you knew how I was deeply infatuated with her years before, and then, all of a sudden, she comes back and says that she loved me! How was I supposed to know she was going to drag me to her room… I didn't know what her intentions were…"

"And she ended up breaking your heart, once more. Geez, how much of a jackass can you be?"

"Sayuri, it was a big mistake. I promise you, and myself, that I'll never, _ever hurt Sakura again. Not in this life, or the next. I love her too much, and I'd do anything to see her happy."_

"Then you'll tell her?"

"No. Not yet."

"Then when?"

"I don't know. When the time is right."

"Then, you'd better do it quick."

"Why?"

"Because Chuei is dating Jade."

"WHAT?!" Boushin yelled in shock, and disgust.

"My same reaction," Sayuri said, with a smirk.

"W-when did this happen?"

"Apparently, from what I've heard from Sakura, it's been going on for a few months."

"You think…?"

"That she's using him to get to Sakura, again? Yep. That was my first thought."

"We've got to tell Chuei."

"He won't listen. You know that. Jade has probably brain-washed him totally, by now, that he only sees the 'good' side of her – that is, if there was one. The bitch knows her tricks, Boushin, and we'd better be on guard, especially you. She'll do anything to hurt Sakura, and she might decide to use you again, if the need calls."

"I just don't get it. Why Sakura?"

"Because Sakura had everything that _she wanted! Popularity, friends, good connections with teachers, a family that loves her, everyone supporting her… And she had you. Jade wanted all that, and __more. Her way of thinking was if you had good looks, you'd get somewhere. Apparently, it did. It made her Number 1 on my 'Slut list'."_

Boushin chuckled. "You're impossible, Sayuri. But don't worry. I'll keep a look-out for both me and Sakura, and I'll tell her."

Sayuri looked at her brother with compassion. "Ok. Just don't do it too late. It might end up hurting her more when it's told from the bitch, rather than from you." She looked at her brother, curiously. "You're not jealous that Chuei is dating her, are you, Boushin?"

Boushin didn't have to think about it twice. He was extremely happy with Sakura; and he wanted this situation with Jade cleared, so she'd get the hell out of their lives, for good. "No. I love Sakura, with all my heart. And I'm willing to sacrifice anything, even if it  means keeping something from her, as long as it doesn't hurt her."

"But not this, Boushin. Please. You've got to tell her, before Jade does!" Sayuri pleaded.

"Don't worry. I will. I'll never hurt your best friend, Sayuri. I love her too much. And as for Jade, I'll be ready for any attack that the fox has planned for me," Boushin claimed, with determination.

"Oh, really now, Boushin. What attack would that be?"

Sayuri and Boushin turned around, towards the staircase, where the voice had come from. Shock was apparent in their faces, and they stared with semi-gaping mouths at the person before them, who was standing on the last step of the staircase, with their arms folded.

"Why would she have anything to do with you?" inquired Chuei, his face a cross between a scowl and a mocking smirk.

"Ch-Chuei…" Sayuri muttered. _How much of our conversation did he overhear??_

To be continued…

*~*

A.N: I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter! I've been extremely busy, and extremely lazy! Not a very good combination! Just for all those curious, this took me a whole week to write, and was a lot a work. _ You know, how you get your inspiration cut off, and then… Yeah, you all get the picture. But I loved writing it, don't get me wrong! And I just can't believe it took about 2 months to release this baby! Argh!

Anyhoo, thank you for the reviews for the past chapter! It's you who keep me going, even though it takes me forever to write them…

Ok, on to the important stuff! This is the final part of Trouble on Shore. It's done! Finito! No big deal, though, because there are more chappies coming up! I hoped you liked this one, though. It's very different to the other ones, I believe, but comment on it anyway. I want to know your reactions. ^.^ Oh, and do you think I should change the rating to this story??

You might think that Sayuri is out of character. But she isn't. Sayuri was raised differently to Boushin, more liberal. And as kids, Sayuri was always there to protect Sakura – thus, the reason to Sakura almost being portrayed as a pampered baby, because she has been! I mean, look at the over-protectiveness of Tamahome! And, therefore, the reason to Sayuri being bad-ass, and a potty-mouth! She's the cool, kick-ass chick that many people dream to be! Well…me, anyways. I'm more of a 'Sakura,' and tend to look up to 'Sayuri's. Hehe.

Yes! The background to Jade has been revealed! You all know the secret… now what? Curious, indeed. How much do you think Chuei should have heard of the conversation?? Also, Yui has been put into the story! You might see more of her in the future… and maybe the Seiryu Seishi as well. Whoops! Gave away too much there! *wink,wink*

By the way, I have made slight modifications to Chapters 1 through 5. Nothing big, that you'd have to read over. Just slight grammatical things, and layout. But, Chapter 1 you'd definitely want to have another look over! I did major modifications to it; well, don't know if you'd consider it major, but to me it was. I changed the background info on the Suzaku Seishi, so if you want to skim through the chapter, and take a read, be my guest!

Next chapter preview: Chuei discusses with Sayuri and Boushin about Jade; and an accident happens at the pool! Stay tuned for the next chapter of 'Precious Things'!

Replies to Reviews:

marzoog: Heya! I like to think of you as my number one gurl! LoL! So sorry that I haven't updated! I guess I explained it all, up above. Hope this pays up for my loss! _ And I'll try to write the next ones quicker!! Don't worry, I've got all the pairings in mind. *wink,wink*

skye-lark913 & frenchiecangal: Thank you so much for reviewing, and I hope you keep in touch with 'Precious Things'!

Chareinami-chan: I agree with you on the issues part. Hope that's enough issues. ^.^ If you have some ideas (and this goes for everyone), tell me. I'll be glad to consider them!


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